Sunday, December 1, 2002

Tuesday, September 10, 2002

There Goes the Neighbourhood

There Goes the Neighbourhood

There Goes the Neighbourhood

Canadian Library Association Honour BookRed Cedar Book Award Nomination

When the construction of monster houses alters Ivy's Vancouver neighborhood, she plans a defiant prank. When it backfires, she wonders if her life will ever be the same again.

"There Goes the Neighborhood" deals not only with issues of race and cultural values, but also addresses how we cope with change.

ISBN: 0889951284
Author: Valerie Lupini
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Rating: 3.00

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Thursday, September 5, 2002

Fury

Fury

Fury

Malik Solanka, historian of ideas and world-famous dollmaker, steps out of his life one day, abandons his family in London without a word of explanation, and flees for New York. There’s a fury within him, and he fears he has become dangerous to those he loves. He arrives in New York at a time of unprecedented plenty, in the highest hour of America’s wealth and power, seeking to “erase” himself. But fury is all around him. An astonishing work of explosive energy, Fury is by turns a pitiless and pitch-black comedy, a love story of mesmerizing force, and a disturbing inquiry into the darkest side of human nature.

ISBN: 0099421860
Author: Salman Rushdie
Publisher: Vintage
Rating: 3.29

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Tuesday, August 27, 2002

Soul of the Sword: An Illustrated History of Weaponry and Warfare from Prehistory to the Present

Soul of the Sword: An Illustrated History of Weaponry and Warfare from Prehistory to the Present

Soul of the Sword: An Illustrated History of Weaponry and Warfare from Prehistory to the Present

A sweeping history of weapons -- their origins and impact on warfare and society -- from prehistory to the present, including "The Halberd"

In the 13th century, Swiss confederates relied on lightweight breastplates, halberd lances, and a democratic style of phalanx warfare that succeeded by agility and speed but ultimately failed against powerful cannons and firearms.

"The First Hand Cannon"

In the 15th century in France and the Low Countries, arms makers first shrunk down cannons by using bronze, allowing for new mobility. Hand cannons were transported on two-wheeled horsedrawn carriages and could be positioned and fired within minutes. No fortified city in Europe was immune to the threat.

"The WheeL Lock Pistol"

In one of the serendipitous technological borrowings that helped the West dominate in gun development, arms and clock-makers in Germany in the 16th century developed a new firing mechanism, using a serrated wheel to strike iron pyrite. When the fuse was eliminated, guns could suddenly be carried, shot, and reloaded by fast-moving cavalry.

"The Pariskanone"

First fired by Germany in March 1918, this cannon shelled Paris from a distance of 80 miles, firing shot as high as 24 miles in the air. Although it killed fewer than 260 citizens, the Pariskanone prefigured the constant terror of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

ISBN: 0684844079
Author: Robert O'Connell
Publisher: Free Press
Rating: 4.15

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Thursday, July 18, 2002

Plays 1: Don Juan on Trial / The Visitor / Enigma Variations / Between Worlds

Plays 1: Don Juan on Trial / The Visitor / Enigma Variations / Between Worlds

Plays 1: Don Juan on Trial / The Visitor / Enigma Variations / Between Worlds

First publication in English of France's most successful contemporary playwright



Don Juan on Trial: 'Brilliant dialogue' (Le Figaro); The Visitor: 'An overwhelming triumph …a masterpiece' (Paris Match); 'Sharp, biting, unexpected and cunning' Le Figaro; Enigma Variations: 'Schmitt…writes with extreme cunning…a brilliant author' (Le Monde); 'Simple, shattering and witty. A play full of surprises' (L'Express); Between Worlds: Schmitt's eighth play is a metaphysical comedy set in the 'Two Worlds Hotel', where those in a coma come to stay while their medical dramas unfold back amongst the living.


"I have been looking for a play like this for the last twenty years" (Alain Delon of Enigma Variations)




ISBN: 0413760200
Author: Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Publisher: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama
Rating: 3.87

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Monday, July 1, 2002

Ocean Star Express

Ocean Star Express

Ocean Star Express

Joe and his parents are enjoying a summer holiday by the sea at the Ocean Star Hotel. The sky is bright blue, the sun shines and Joe loves all that the seaside has to offer. But when the fog rolls in and rain falls Joe begins to wish that he was back at home again. Things change, however, when the owner of the hotel invites Joe to share in a magical world, only a few steps away. The loft is black as night but then above Joe's head a thousand tiny stars begin to sparkle and in the distance he hears the chug-chug-chug of a model train. A whole world is soon to open up before Joe's eyes, a world of snow-capped mountains, great deserts, and rocking fishing boats.

ISBN: 000664600X
Author: Mark Haddon
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Rating: 3.40

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Tuesday, June 25, 2002

The Beautiful and Damned

The Beautiful and Damned

The Beautiful and Damned

First published in 1922, The Beautiful and the Damned followed Fitzgerald's impeccable debut, This Side of Paradise, thus securing his place in the tradition of great American novelists. Embellished with the author's lyrical prose, here is the story of Harvard-educated, aspiring aesthete Anthony Patch and his beautiful wife, Gloria. As they await the inheritance of his grandfather's fortune, their reckless marriage sways under the influence of alcohol and avarice. A devastating look at the nouveau riche and New York nightlife, as well as the ruinous effects of wild ambition, The Beautiful and the Damned achieved stature as one of Fitzgerald's most accomplished novels. Its distinction as a classic endures to this day. Pocket Book's Enriched Classics present the great works of world literature enhanced for the contemporary reader. Special features include critical perspectives, suggestions for further read, and a unique visual essay composed of period photographs that help bring every word to life.

ISBN: 0743451503
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Rating: 3.75

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