In this philosophical biography, Liel Leibovitz looks at what it is that makes musician/philosopher/poet Leonard Cohen an enduring international figure in the cultural imagination. Born into a Canadian religious Jewish family, for years a reclusive lyricist on the Greek island of Hydra, known for his bold political commentary, his devotion to Buddhist thought and his later despair over contemporary Zionism, Cohen hardly follows the rules of a conventional rock star. Yet the prophetic themes of his music, often filled with pessimism and apocalyptic visions, prove redemptive to an audience that spans generations, from those who listened in the 1960's to today. As Leonard Cohen requires, this is a passionate and personal evocation of a man who appeals to the inner spirit of his fervent followers.

"A major influence on the BBC and independent television in Britain in the 1960s, as well as on CBC and the National Film Board in Canada, Sydney Newman acted as head of drama at a key period in the history of television. For the first time, his comprehensive memoirs--written in the years before his death in 1997--are being made public. Born to a poor Jewish family in the tenements of Queen Street in Toronto, Newman's artistic talent got him a job at the NFB under John Grierson. He then became one of the first producers at CBC TV before heading overseas to the U.K. where he revitalized drama programming. Harold Pinter and Alun Owen were playwrights whom Newman nurtured, and their contemporary, socially conscious plays were successful, both artistically and commercially. At the BBC, overseeing a staff of 400, he developed a science fiction show that flourishes to this day: Doctor Who. Providing further context to Newman's memoir is an in-depth biographical essay by Graeme Burk, which positions Newman's legacy in the history of television, and an afterword by one of Sydney's daughters, Deirdre Newman."--

Book by Safdie, Moshe

A history of the influential labor Zionist youth movement Habonim. the movement's history is recounted in its members' words, including those of Golda Meir, Mordecai Richler and Leonard Fein. the afterword is provided by Chaim Herzog, a founder of habonim in ireland

No other book about Leonard Cohen gets so close to the man, his city, his poems and songs, his friends, his background, and the many original influences that forged this world-famous poet, songwriter and performer. Based on the documentary film Rasky made in 1979, this book includes texts taken from the film with numerous notes and personal reminiscences from this long-standing friendship with Leonard Cohen. The Song of Leonard Cohen also includes many rare photos of Leonard Cohen and is considered to be one of the best and most intimate portraits of the subject.

One evening in late October 1958, the deepest coal mine in North America "bumped"-its rock floors heaved up and smashed into rock ceilings. Most of the men on the shift perished. But nineteen men were trapped alive a mile below the earth's surface, struggling to survive without food, water, light, or fresh air. Almost a week passed without rescue. Hopes of finding life dwindled; then a miracle happened: Rescuers stumbled across a broken pipe that led to the cave of survivors. In the media circus that followed, the survivors' endurance was mythologized and twisted, and the state of Georgia's tourism ploy-inviting the survivors to recuperate on a Georgia beach-turned racist and pitted the miners against each other. Using long-lost stories and interviews with survivors, Greene has reconstructed an extraordinary drama of their struggle and miraculous rescue.

Traces the author's involvement with the Seagram Company, and his experiences and reflections as he learned the running of the business from the ground up.

David Steinberg was raised in Winnipeg, Canada, by parents who expected little from him. And no wonder. Instead of studying Talmud in order to become a rabbi, he chose to major in Martin and Lewis with a minor in basketball. As David imagines the story of his life (since his success otherwise makes no sense), God one day spotted him on the playground and decided that this young man with no ambition could go far with His help. Sure enough, God soon had David on network TV and Broadway, and selling out nightclubs across the country--as well as being pursued by hot starlets. This book is David Steinberg's hilarious trip down memory lane, assuming that the lane has a biblical address.--From publisher description.

A personal and insightful call to action and a much-needed book about one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world—the relationship between Canada and the US—and why diplomacy matters now more than ever before. All over the world, diplomacy is under threat. Diplomats used to handle sensitive international negotiations, but increasingly, incendiary Tweets and bombastic public statements are posing a threat to foreign relations. In The Art of Diplomacy , the former US ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman, and his partner, Vicki Heyman, spell out why diplomacy and diplomats matter, especially in today’s turbulent times. This dynamic power couple arrived in Canada intent on representing American interests, but they quickly learned that to do so meant representing the shared interests of all citizens—no matter what side of the 49th parallel they happened to live on. Bruce and Vicki narrate their three years in Canada spent journeying across the country and meeting Canadians from all walks of life—including Supreme Court justices, prime ministers, fishermen, farmers, artists, and entrepreneurs. They tell the behind-the-scenes stories of how their team helped bring Obama to Canada and Trudeau to the US. They also reveal the importance of creating cultural and artistic exchange between Canada and the US, of promoting economic and trade interests, and overall, of making a lasting positive impact on one of the most important relationships in the free world today. This politically poignant and heartfelt memoir is a call to action, a reminder that only by working together to protect our shared values—the environment, social justice and human rights—can nations build a better world for all. As their long-time friend and colleague President Obama once said, “The world needs more Canada.” At this key moment in history, when opposing nationalist and populist agendas threaten to divide us, The Art of Diplomacy reminds us to keep calm, to work together and to carry on.

A fresh look at the nation's formative years through the lens of the clash between Washington and Jefferson.

This early work by Franz Boas was originally published in 1888 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Central Eskimo' was his first monograph and details his time spent on Baffin Island studying the Inuit people. Franz Boas was born on July 9th 1958, in Minden, Westphalia. Even though Boas had a passion the natural sciences, he enrolled at the University at Kiel as an undergraduate in Physics. Boas completed his degree with a dissertation on the optical properties of water, before continuing his studies and receiving his doctorate in 1881. Boas became a professor of Anthropology at Columbia University in 1899 and founded the first Ph.D program in anthropology in America. He was also a leading figure in the creation of the American Anthropological Association (AAA). Franz Boas had a long career and a great impact on many areas of study. He died on 21st December 1942.

"When her marriage suddenly ends, and a diary documenting her beloved grandfather's escape from Nazi-occupied Netherlands in the summer of 1942 is discovered, Naomi K. Lewis decides to retrace his journey to learn about her family history. Despite suffering from extreme disorientation and a lifetime of anxiety, she travels alone for the first time. Moving from Amsterdam to Lyon--relying on the marvels of GPS--she discovers family secrets and her own narrative as a second-generation Jewish Canadian. With vulnerability, humour, and wisdom, Lewis's memoir asks tough questions about her identity as a secular Jew, the accuracy of family stories, and the impact of the Holocaust on subsequent generations. How do immigrants weave their sense of identity into their chosen countries? Must we be able to locate ourselves within family and cultural geography to belong?"--

"Born in 1915 to Russian Jewish immigrants, Saul Bellow was raised in the small town - "a medieval" shtetl he called it - of Lachine, Quebec, and then in a predominantly Jewish section of Montreal until the age of nine. He had a trilingual childhood which included Yiddish as well as English and French. In an insightful new look at Bellow's life and career, Gerald Sorin argues that Bellow's immersion in Yiddish and childhood memories of the vibrant Jewish life on Montreal's Napoleon and Dominique streets continued to echo in his adult inner ear and permeated almost all of his writing. Much of Bellow's creative power, including the dynamic, comic, and lusty language that became his literary signature, was shaped and informed by the fact that he was Jewish"--

A sharp and witty expose of show business and notorious characters Barry Avrich is a Montreal - born, self - made film producer/director, flamboyant advertising executive, and legendary biographer and connector of moguls and stars. For over three decades he has relentlessly produced films on some of the most notorious show - business titans and also found the time to market and promote feature films, concerts, and the biggest shows on Broadway. In his memoir, Moguls, Monsters and Madmen, Barry takes readers from his early days, shaping his brand as a creative adman with the infamous Garth Drabinsky and witnessing the genius of legendary Rolling Stones promoter Michael Cohl, to his acclaimed documentaries on Harvey Weinstein, Lew Wasserman, Bob Guccione, and many others. Go behind the scenes on his most provocative films - like The Last Mogul, Unauthorized, and Filthy Gorgeous - and follow Barry as he moves from the power rooms of Hollywood to the launches of incredible brands while hanging around with royalty, rogues, clients, and confidants. An extraordinary raconteur, Barry spares no one, least of all himself, as he details his extraordinary relationships and encounters with everyone from Frank Sinatra, Quincy Jones, and Vanity Fair columnist Dominick Dunne to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards."

In savage blizzards, blinding whiteouts and 60-below-zero temperatures, steel axles snap like twigs; brakes and steering wheels seize up; bare hands freeze when they touch metal. The lake ice cracks and sometimes gives way, so the roadbuilders drive with one hand on the door, ready to jump. John Denison and his crew waited for the coldest, darkest days of winter every year to set out to build a 520-kilometre road made of ice and snow, from Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories to a silver mine on Great Bear Lake, above the Arctic Circle - this is their story. Edith Iglauer was the first outsider ever to accompany them as they worked. This book, her chronicle of a gruelling, fascinating journey through Canada's north, has sold over 20,000 copies since its first publication in 1974.

"When Ralph Benmergui discovered he was literally hours away from a deadly heart attack he realized his life had changed. He was entering the autumn of his life, as he saw it, and he was being dragged into it by his heels. What follows this awakening is a funny, profound and generous look at where he has come from - from his childhood as the youngest son of Moroccan immigrants, to his experiences during the early years of YukYuks, to his long and storied career at CBC, along with much more - to where he is now, with stents in his arteries, having survived two bouts of cancer, hosting a much-loved podcast and a with practice in Hashpa'ah, Jewish Spiritual Direction. Along the way Benmergui looks critically at what it means to grow old in our society and challenges the reader to push against the stereotypes, to find a new purpose, and to claim the title and role of elder in a society that demands we strive to stay 'forever young.'"--

This book defies categorization. It is an auto-biographical novel, a book about how to have fun, a cautionary tale for the sexually and socially inhibited. It is a political treatise on how to combat puritanism, a philosophical tract on the importance of humour to the human soul, a buyers' guide to outstanding porno tapes and a business book for the entertainment industry. It is the life of Mark Breslin. Beginning as the enfant terrible of Canadian comedy, Mark Breslin rose up and built an empire: the Yuk Yuk's chain of comedy clubs. He pulled Jim Carrey out of open-mic obscurity, gave dozens of other comics their big breaks and made an astounding contribution to the widely held belief that Canadians are the funniest people in the world. Along the way he learned how far some people will go for money, or for a dream; how truly puritanical North American society remains in this supposedly progressive age; how as you move closer to the top, the only thing you really get is a better view of the men pulling the strings. Written in the sort of irreverent, confessional prose style that will keep the Yuk Yuk's lawyers awake at night, Control Freaked takes us on a hilarious and shocking journey into the dark corners of the entertainment industry.