National Network for Equitable Library Service

Even as a young girl growing up in Nova Scotia, Mona Louise Parsons stood out for her elegance and theatrical flair. But the life of this Wolfville native has always overshadowed her stage roles. From a Nova Scotian childhood, she became a 1920s New York chorus girl, a Depression-era nurse, a prisoner of the Nazis, and an escaped, emaciated fugitive who walked across Nazi Germany in the dying months of World War II.The process of uncovering the story of Mona Parsons took almost as many twists and turns as the life it was piecing together.

This outspoken, timely book by former Mulroney Cabinet Minister Tom McMillan indicts Stephen Harper for destroying the historic Canadian Conservative Party while prime minister and party leader, accusing him of turning a force for progressive Canadian values into an American Republican-style vehicle for right-wing ideologues. Lamenting Harper’s hyper-partisan “cult of personality” politics, McMillan argues the Conservative Party is no longer the enlightened national institution founded by Sir John A.

In his uniquely homespun style, sinister storyteller Steve Vernon digs up the dirt on Maritime murders from 1770 to 1929--along with a few bodies along the way. Unearthing historically buried, and occasionally unsolved, violent crimes from across Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Vernon's versions of these 19 macabre tales will chill you to the bone. Featuring a bevy of questionable characters from the darkest recesses of Maritime history, Maritime Murder divulges a diverse array of bygone crimes, trials, and the eerie aftermath.

Born in tiny Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, Hank Snow enjoyed a musical career that spanned five decades and sales of more than 80 million albums. In I’m Movin’ On, journalist Vernon Oickle chronicles Snow’s hardscrabble life, from his destitute childhood in Queens County to international fame. Leaving no stone unturned in his richly detailed profile of The Singing Ranger, Oickle exposes the highs and lows of Snow’s career, and his journey (“Everywhere, man,”) from small East Coast radio stations to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Featuring important insights from the company's current executives and employees, Last Canadian Beer: The Moosehead Story is not only a fascinating company history, but also a candid look at how a small New Brunswick business remains competitive in a difficult global marketplace. While other Canadian beer brands long ago sold out to American and European interests, Moosehead has remained fiercely independent. Last Canadian Beer is the remarkable story of a time-honoured business, a complex family, and a beloved beer. Now available in softcover.

Halifax Tastes is the newest installment in the popular Tastes series. Halifax is famous for its flavourful seafood but as the largest city in the Maritimes, it should be no surprise that Halifax also boasts plenty of variety when it comes restaurants. From zesty Italian to spicy Thai, from tangy Chinese to carefully presented Japanese, from delightful Greek to classic Canadian cuisine, there is sure to be a restaurant to suit everyone's liking.

On Cindy Day’s grandmother’s farm, the weather wasn’t predicted with a computer or official forecast, but by accumulated wisdom and careful observation. Cindy’s grandma was a constant prognosticator, making predictions about the weather that more often than not, proved correct! Grandma Says is a collection of 80 weather-related sayings that Cindy recalls from her grandmother. Now CTV Atlantic’s meteorologist, Cindy explains the science behind this traditional weather lore, and over 40 accent illustrations complement the text. New softcover edition.

Imagine living your life perched on a tiny island, without electricity, exposed to the fury of the sea, and always at the service of the mariner. This is how lightkeepers and their families spent their lives, even up until the 1960s. We are very close to losing the last of the people who lived this isolated life and experienced the heyday of lightkeeping in Canada. Lighthouse Legacies lets us share in the memories of those who kept the lights.

In this collection, thirty-seven writers from across Canada tell thought-provoking stories of extraordinary encounters with a variety of animals—from rats and salamanders to wolves and bears. From tributes to a favourite cat or dog to tales of a chance encounter with a moose or a cougar, these stories are sure to entertain and enlighten. The writers are people who spend time in the company of animals, paying close attention to them and their natures, and the lessons they can teach us.

In Indian School Road, journalist Chris Benjamin tackles the controversial and tragic history of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, its predecessors, and its lasting effects, giving voice to multiple perspectives for the first time. Benjamin integrates research, interviews, and testimonies to guide readers through the varied experiences of students, principals, and teachers over the school’s nearly forty years of operation (1930–1967) and beyond.