Canada Day Books

I found Day By Day to be compelling reading as I share the same love and awe of nature as Mr. Petersen and his family. We enjoyed a cruise from Vancouver to Sitka, Juneau and Glacier Bay some years ago. The observations of these areas in the book were particularly interesting to me. To experience Glacier Bay cruising alone in a small boat was truly an awesome feat. The book describes the wild life viewed in detail indicating how to keep oneself safe while viewing bears, etc.

Tips on fishing these beautiful waters also were of interest. The catching of about every game fish, crabs, and digging clams was included in the book. This book is also a guide to great places to eat along the way, on land sights not to be missed, hot springs for bathing and best places to anchor.

To anyone owning a boat, the mechanical problems described and how they were corrected would be very helpful. Also, a novice would find invaluable the detailed descriptions of tides, times to avoid certain waters and highlights of the many inlets and coves he explored and which are named in the book.

There are numerous instances of protection and guidance as the result of his leaning on the almighty and trusting in God's care.

To read this book is a must for anyone contemplating cruising these waters and it would be a valuable companion on one's trip.

This book is great for those who want to cruise to Alaska in a small boat or just enjoy cruising around islands in the Inside Passage. It is full of tips, lists, and local insight from someone that has made the trip several times. I was glad to know small boats can make the trip to Alaska if you are careful. Besides this book I suggest anyone planning to make a trip like this take the piloting classes offered by the United States Power Squadron or Coast Guard Auxiliary to learn more about using charts, and GPS.

I am disappointed that the editorial review did not indicate that this book is actually an evangelical platform for a born-again Christian. Mr. Petersen averages some discourse on his God and his faith about every 5 pages. There are 38 "God" citations in the index.
Had I known that the voyage was to serve as his "Sermon on the Inside Passage", I would not have purchased the book.

My review may be biased; I have published three books on Canadian Army uniforms and insignia myself. I commend Jean Bouchery for his efforts in assembling this book. Much information has not seen print before, and many photos of rare kit are an invaluable resource.

However, there are many errors of fact strewn through the book, indicating Bouchery's lack of direct experience with the Canadian military. The colour corrections to Canadian Battledress also render the book, in my opinion, not worth buying. Hopefully a corrected second edition is published - the publisher should really be raked over the coals for this, as the colour plates have been shifted drastically and are useless as even a general guide to Canadian uniform colours. Why print in colour if you are going to simply colour correct things outside the realm of normalcy?

Just about every page has a small error, but many are due to translation I think. Recommended for the experienced collector or historian, those just starting out are advised to be wary.

Still, much useful information if one can get past the presentation. I recommened buying this used or second-hand, until such time as a correction volume sees print.

Few military "picture books" have given me as much unexpected pleasure as this one. Having bought it by mail on the basis of its subject matter alone, I was very pleasantly surprised when it not only met - but exceeded - my expectations. Lavishly (dare I say beautifully) illustrated by abundant carefully selected and wonderfully reproduced photos and charts, it exhaustively covers almost all aspects of the Canadian soldier in Northwest Europe in the final year of World War II. The succinct text (written in homage by French authors, but adequately transcribed into English) provides a good outline against which to appreciate this visual material. While the treatment of any individual subject may not be as deep as that found in books dediciated to a specific topic, I can confidently say that no one single volume provides as much useful information as this one does!

Actually, Adams goes right out and says that Hazel was based on a man he met durung his army service, so read closer next time, buddy.

Adams autobiography plots along at a snail's pace as Adams describes in nauseatingly long detail about the plants and birds that lived in the area where he grew up. I suppose that this is exciting for people who enjoy nature walks and such.

I labored through the book because I am a dedicated Adams fan. I have read every novel that he has ever written, and enjoyed them thoroughly. The Day Gone By is helpful if you want to get inside of Adams' head and figure out how he thinks. After reading the work, I think that Hazel, a character from Watership Down, may actually be a model for his father, to whom Adams was very close.

Other observations about Adams' works can be gleaned by reading The Day Gone By.

The way of a Ship / Terek Lundy

This purchase was a mistake and I am simply unable to start the reading, although I tried.
I am collecting/reading "the real thing" on the saile era,written by those who were then involved.( Am finding texts in English, Dutch, French & a bit in German - unfortunately, I do not read Swedish/Finnish ).
Maybe Mr Terek Lundy is an excellent author, but this book is not what I was looking for.

R Grommé

The Way of a Ship is a strangely structured book on an interesting topic. Derek Lundy tells a good story, but it is spoiled by the other information interleaved in it.

One of the authors forebear's was a sailor on a square rigger that sailed around Cape Horn. That is what sparked his interest in the story. He describes this as well as some of the research he did for this story. Fortunately these interruptions are short.

He then goes on to interrupt the story with lessons on the economics and history of sea transport at the time of the story. He also describes the social life of the people who made up the crew on these ships and has some comments on the types of ships being built as steam ships over took sailing vessels. There are also interludes of historical information about Joseph Conrad, Richard Henry Dana and Herman Melville.

While they are reasonably well written and are interesting by themselves they just serve to confuse the fiction. They look very much like filler to me. The story that makes up the central theme of the book is a well told sea tale with a sympathetic protagonist. However the story cannot survive being lumped in with all these other distractions. The reader has to be motivated to read yet another sea tale to bother with this one.

But only about 240 if you remove all of the quotes from Conrad, Dana, Mehlville, etc.

Truly a letdown.

This is made-up fake stuff by a wanna-be. Why not read the real - try Marryat's "Mr Midshipman Easy", etc. Marryat joined the Royal Navy in 1806 (yes 18) and fought against the French in the Med. He wrote this book in 1836 (yes 18) - it and other sources were used by Forrester to create the Hornblower character. Read this book and compare situations to the early Hornblower actions - like identical.

I find it curious that some readers found this book wanting. I would admit it had its slow times, but over all I was very impressed.

Besides a reasonable story line of the fictional voyage, the author had lots of the sea history of steam vs. sail, rounding the "Horn", navigating, scurvy, etc. I liked it all and appreciated the author's connection with long-lost relatives.

My recommendation: if you like "fictional history" from that era this is a good choice.

This book tells little about Strong's actual story and is mostly filled with FLDS History and Case Law. Not very interesting, it jumps around too much from chapter to chapter and I didn't finish it.

Interest book. I had watch the TV show Big Love, but this book show the real side of Polygamy. This is a book all American women should read.

This book presents a lot of information, but it really isn't that interesting if your looking for a good polygamy book. It reads kind of like an encyclopedia. Informative, but boring.

I saw Mr. Llewellyn on the HBO special for the series Big Love. I am a huge fan of the show and have become fascinated by the way polygamists live their lives. The Rape of Rachael Strong is a good, quick read filled with instances and examples that help you understand how dire the situation (especially on compounds) are for women and children and how this sexist society breaks and creates the rules according to what's convenient for them. I was shocked, amazed and offended by much of what Mr. Llewellyn brought to light.

I would recommend it.

Not a very well written book and there are many typos. I think the author assumes the reader is knowledgeable of the Mormon religion, which may not be the case for some. The title leads you to believe this is a story about a young woman and her struggles. Author wrote more about the Utah district attorney, Principal Voices (pro-polygamy women's group), and polygamist men. Because of the title, I wanted to know more about Rachel Strong and her life and how she is doing now. If you want to write a book that's anti-polygamy, then do that. If you want to write a book about Rachel Strong, then do that. Don't mix the message! I bought this book after seeing the author highlighted on HBO's Big Love outtakes. I would not recommend it to anyone. :-(

It has been a while since I read this book, but I absolutely hated it. In particular, I did not like how the 2nd Zina was treated.

Four Zinas: A Story Of Mothers And Daughters On The Mormon Frontier is the story of a four-generation family of women who shared many things in common, foremost of which was the name Zina. Zina Baker Huntington converted to Mormonism in New York in 1835. Her daughter, Zina Huntington Young married Joseph Smith, and upon his death, married Brigham Young and served as the Mormon Church's general Relief Society President. Then her daughter, Zina Young Card assisted her husband, Charles Ora Card, in founding Cardston, Alberta, Canada. And in time, her daughter, Zina Card Brown married future Mormon church apostle Hugh B. Brown. Four Zinas is the fascinating story of how this extended family helped to shape their respected eras within the Mormon community. Zina Young and Zina Card worked tirelessly for woman's suffrage, encouraging women to study nursing and become involved in industry. All of the women promoted drama and literature, inspiring others through their speeches and expressions of spirituality (including the Mormon custom of "speaking in tongues". These were women who enabled Mormon women to feel good about themselves, and in the process, made their frontier worlds welcome places to establish families and enjoy life. Four Zinas is very highly recommended for women's studies, American frontier studies, and Mormon history studies reading lists.

I ordered this book before our first trip to the Canadian Rockies and found it very helpful in anticipating and planning our excursions. It is so nicely illustrated that it remains a very pleasant reminder of our trip to Banff. I thought it well done and sufficiently descriptive.

Of the 4 books I have read dealing with "day" hiking, this one is the worst. First: it contains hikes that are far more difficult than what I was lead to believe by the word dayhike. Second: the maps of the hikes are very poorly illustrated. Third: the discription of the hikes themselves are lacking in any detail or directions. Fourth: the book contains only hikes in the area immediately around the town of Banff, and does not contain hikes in the entire Park of of Banff. I was very dissappointed in it.

If you're looking for a photography book with 'beautiful, Kodak moment' pictures of wildlife, the Inuit, wild flowers upon the tundra, etc., this is NOT for you. But, if you like "nature" photography at its minimalist best, these photographs are glorious, providing, like me, you enjoy looking at photos of fog upon the water and the patterns that ice floes make upon the land and sea.

I was a tad disappointed in the text... because it's "poetry", as opposed to the photographer detailing his journey. An account of Ketchum's journey is in another part of the book, but it would have been far more effective, if his observations were next to the images, instead of a poet's musings on the area, which left me unsatisfied and with questions about certain images (like where they were, etc.). This is a remote area that we know little about and the photographer's account and observations next to his photographs would have been most helpful and informative.

I knew that Robert Glenn Ketchum's book The Northwest Passage would be a great book, but I was surprised to see the low price of $9.98. Now I know why. About 5 pages had been double printed with two pages of text on one page. Also a few pages of images had been overprinted. I hope this involves only my copy and not all the others that are being offered.

This book is part of a series on Canadian holidays. Canada Day, July 1, celebrates the founding of Canada in 1867. A short book, its major feature is the colourful pictures which would attract any children interested in learning more about Canada. The drawback is that the details are somewhat limited. If your child is interested in Canada this book would be ok but overall there are better books available.

If you are looking for a book about bears, keep looking. The word Grizzlies in the title is for marketing purposes. The book is essentially a chronicle of a couple settling in Knight Inlet, BC in the early 20th century as told to the author Beth Day in the 1950's. The book is ably written and entertaining, but is not about bears. The grizzlies have occasional cameo appearances, but don't even rate a co-starring role. There is nothing to be learned about bears here, just a light days read.