Other books that might interest you

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  Best Canadian Sports Writing

  Stacey May Fowles, Pasha Malla

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  38 pieces that will be remembered for seasons to come
   
  For 25 years, sports journalists south of the border have been collected in best-of anthologies. With Best Canadian Sports Writing, editors Stacey May Fowles and Pasha Malla offer a long overdue rejoinder from the North, showcasing top literary sports writing from diverse homegrown talent.
   
  This extraordinary anthology of recent writing mixes columns and long-form journalism, profiles and reportage, new voices and well-known favourites such as Stephen Brunt, Rachel Giese, Eric Koreen, Morgan Campbell, and Cathal Kelly. The assembled pieces offer polished prose, unusual perspectives, and rare insight into their subjects, whether it’s a Filipino basketball league in the Yukon, the rise and fall of ski ballet, or a field trip to the Mexican hometown of the Jays’ Roberto Osuna. With its many voices and approaches, Best Canadian Sports Writing expands the genre into more democratic and conversational territory, celebrating the perspectives of both fans and experts alike.
   
  These remarkable pieces offer lasting insight that, like sport itself, excites, inspires, and never fails to reveal the truth about ourselves.

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  Mistress of the Elgin Marbles -...

  Susan Nagel

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  “A lively and welcome account of a charismatic woman,” drawing on the personal correspondence of Lady Mary Bruce, wife of the Earl of Elgin (People). 
   
  The remarkable Mary Nisbet was the Countess of Elgin in Romantic-era Scotland and the wife of the seventh Earl of Elgin. When Mary accompanied her husband to diplomatic duty in Turkey, she changed history. She helped bring the smallpox vaccine to the Middle East, struck a seemingly impossible deal with Napoleon, and arranged the removal of famous marbles from the Parthenon. But all of her accomplishments would be overshadowed, however, by her scandalous divorce. Drawing from Mary’s own letters, scholar Susan Nagel tells Mary’s enthralling, inspiring, and suspenseful story in vibrant detail. 
   
  “Absorbing . . . required reading for anyone interested in cultural history, as well as the art of biography.” —Booklist 
   
  “A sympathetic and emotionally charged portrait . . . [written] with insight and compassion yet without sentimentality.” —Publishers Weekly 
   
  “A unique life related with animation, admiration, and affection.” —Kirkus Reviews

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  With Fire and Sword (Byers)

  Samuel H. M. Byers

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  Samuel H. M. Byers was an American poet, diplomat, and soldier in the Civil War. "In war some persons seek adventures; others have them in spite of themselves. It happened that the writer of this book belonged to a regiment that seemed to be always in the midst of great experiences. It was, in fact, one of the few regiments that absolutely fought themselves out of existence. It was mustered in a thousand strong; it lost seven hundred and seventy-seven men by death, wounds, and disease. The fragment that was left over was transferred to a cavalry command. When the writer finally escaped from prison, after many months of confinement and many thrilling adventures both in prison and in the army of the enemy, he was mustered out as a "supernumerary officer." His command had ceased to exist. He was literally the last man of the regiment. He kept a diary every day in the four years of war and adventure. The substance of the facts related here is from its pages; occasionally they are copied just as they are there set down. The book is not a history of great army movements, it is simply a true tale of the thrilling experiences of a subordinate soldier in the midst of great events." (Summary from the Preface)

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  Working for the Man Playing in...

  Damon Wood, Phil Carson

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  A young, long-haired rock guitarist finds the funk on stage with the Godfather of Soul
   
  In this unvarnished account of toiling under one of popular music’s most notorious bosses, Damon Wood details his six years spent playing guitar for James Brown’s Soul Generals.
   
  In a memoir certain to fascinate Mr. Dynamite’s millions of fans, as well as musicians and industry insiders, Wood recalls how a chance encounter with James Brown led him to embrace soul and funk music under the tutelage of its greatest progenitor. Numerous interviews with bandmates provide multiple perspectives on James Brown’s complex character, his leadership of his band, the nature of soul and funk, and insights and sometimes harsh lessons learned along the way.
   
  This is a sideman’s story of the gritty reality of working close to the spotlight but rarely in it. Damon Wood describes life on the road — often on James Brown’s infamous tour bus — with one guitar, a change of clothes, and two dozen comrades-in-arms as they brought the funk to clubs, theaters, and the biggest music festivals on earth. Working for James Brown could be fear-inducing, inspiring, exhilarating, and exasperating — all in the space of a single performance.

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  The Mortgage Coach

  Joey Sheahan

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  A practical guide for those house hunting, preparing for their mortgage application as well as mortgage switching. The mortgage process can appear daunting but, armed with a little knowledge and lots of expert advice, the journey from preparation to the application through to approval and drawdown can be a smooth one. The recipe for success is planning,The Mortgage Coach is a confidence booster to those setting out on the mortgage journey.
  >The guidelines cover the need for good preparation - from selecting the best mortgage, through to the application, how to structure the deposit, how overpaying can work for you and the essential need to review your mortgage regularly. The bonus is that this book is written with refreshing clarity. Joey Sheahan has the interests of the buyer at heart and puts emphasis on prioritising the long-term benefit rather than the short-term gain. The reader gets the benefit of decades of experience through practical steps, guidance through typical problem areas, with tips and workarounds to get them on the road to mortgage success.

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  The Color of Love - A Story of a...

  Marra B. Gad

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  In this award-winning memoir, a mixed-race Jewish woman recounts her journey from adoption and prejudice to helping the family that once shunned her. 
   
  Marra B. Gad’s biological parents were a black man and a white Jewish woman. In 1970, at three days old, she was adopted by a white Jewish family in Chicago. For them, it was love at first sight—but the world was not ready for a family like theirs. In black spaces, Marra was considered “not black enough” and encountered antisemitism. In Jewish spaces, she was mistaken for the help, asked to leave, or worse. She even faced racism within her own family. 
   
  Marra’s family cut ties with relatives who refused to accept her—including her once beloved and glamorous Great-Aunt Nette. But after fifteen years of estrangement, Marra discovered that Nette had Alzheimer’s, and that she was the only one able to reunite Nette with her family. Instead of revenge, Marra chose love, and watched as the disease erased her aunt’s racism, making space for a relationship that was never possible before. 
   
  The Color of Love explores the idea of yerusha, which means “inheritance” in Yiddish. At turns heart-wrenching and heartwarming, this is a story about what you inherit from your family—identity, disease, melanin, hate, and most powerful of all, love. 
   
  Winner of the 2020 Midwest Book Award in Autobiography/Memoir

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