1972 by Jean Baird Jury: Cyril Connolly, Dr. George Steiner, Elizabeth Bowen. Down from 5 to 3. Wonder why? And only 4 short-listed books rather than 6 of previous years. John Berger: G, Weidenfeld & Nicolson; Susan Hill: Bird of Night, Hamish Hamilton; Thomas Keneally: The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith,... [Read more...]
Ciccio’s Time by Brian Fawcett On January 29th, my neighbour Francesco DeCaria died after a long struggle with heart disease. He was 87. He’d already had 2 major bypass operations when I met him 13 years ago, and he had many more procedures of different sorts performed on his ailing heart before he died.... [Read more...]
Saving Haiti by Brian Fawcett Like most people, I’ve followed the aftermath of the Haitian quake with a kind of horror. But for me, the horror has been not at the quake itself and its terrible consequences for the benighted Haitians, but at the Canadian media response to it, and the consequent public response. This... [Read more...]
Newest Articles
On the absence of hatchet-work amongst Canada’s Book ReviewersBrian Fawcett takes exception to Martin Levin’s characterization of Canadian book reviewers as lacking venom. He thinks Levin is part of the cause.
The Silly Season comes to Toronto in JanuaryWally Hourback thinks Toronto has lost its mind, on several fronts
Saving HaitiBrian Fawcett tries to reassert perspective in the face of the earthquake in Haiti.
What Good Are Books?Rick Salutin thinks we could do with a lot less book-reading.
Missing the Point about AbdulmutallabFailed terrorism and the end of airline passenger docility.
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Parsing Reality HungerCaleb Powell reviews an about-to-be published and likely-to-be controversial book by American cultural analyst David Shields
Discovering Ulysses S. GrantBrian Fawcett reads an 1885 memoir, and discovers a contemporary culture hero, complete with a code of conduct
Positively Barbara EhrenreichLanny Beckman reviews Barbara Ehrenreich’s latest, and possibly most timely book
Pitch PerfectA little night-music maestro… How J.S. Bach’s “Cello Suites” made it from obscurity to modern times.
Decline and DistractionThe illusions of empire and the illusions of critics of illusions.
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Gary GoodyearRecently minted Federal Minister of Science and Technology under Stephen Harper. He is a chiropractor by profession, and an evangelical Christian. Is his belief that dinosaurs roamed the earth 6014 years ago and that Intelligent Design is actually intelligence a job qualification? Harper evidently thinks it is.
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