Conversations with Gorbachev: On Perestroika, the Prague Spring, and the Crossroads of Socialism

Book Description

Mikhail Gorbachev and Zdenek Mlynar were friends for half a century, since they first crossed paths as students in 1950. Although one was a Russian and the other a Czech, they were both ardent supporters of communism and socialism. One took part in laying the groundwork for and carrying out the Prague spring; the other opened a new political era in Soviet world politics.

In 1993 they decided that their conversations might be of interest to others and so they began to tape-record them. This book is the product of that "thinking out loud" process. It is an absorbing record of two friends trying to explain to one another their views on the problems and events that determined their destinies. From reminiscences of their starry-eyed university days to reflections on the use of force to "save socialism" to contemplation of the end of the cold war, here is a far more candid picture of Gorbachev than we have ever seen before.

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Conversations with Gorbachev
Zdenek Mlynar; Foreword-Mikhail Gorbachev; Foreword-Archie Brown; Translator-George Shriver
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPKC3G

Book Description

The core of this powerful assemblage is an exploration of the extraordinary achievement of Haida art, as art. Interwoven throughout the text and the finely reproduced images is a skillful intermingling of key themes: the defining myths of origins; the structures of ownership and privilege; the relationship of the people to the land; the influence of the early master-carvers; the monumental achievements of Charles Edenshaw, Bill Reid, Robert Davidson, and many others; the Haida and colonialism; and hybrid tendencies in contemporary Haida art. From oral histories and genealogies to the breakout aesthetics of contemporary Haida work in many media, this book celebrates a great art in a contemporary context.

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A Fine Companion Book to a Wonderful Exhibit, But..........2006-08-24

This companion volume to the astonishing "Raven Travelling" exhibit, currently (through mid-September '06) on view at the Vancouver Art Gallery in downtown Vancouver, B.C., features fine photographs and several articles, ranging from evocative to scholarly, that will serve as an introduction to Haida art, thought, and cultural/political/ecological concerns. The exhibit will then travel to more easterly Canadian cities--you'll do yourself a favor to time any plans taking you to Canada to intercept "Raven Travelling" in its travels!

The title of both exhibit and book refer to a cycle of Haida myths starring the irrepressible and irreverent Raven. The Haida are ancient island dwellers indigenous to northwest British Columbia (and more recent migrants to even more northerly islands which lie within Southeast Alaska). The Haida were and are exceptional artists, painters, sculptors, weavers, and architects of monumental long-houses and totem poles. Their woodworking technology and stewardship over giant red cedar trees allowed them to craft swift and capacious sea-going canoes.

Their culture and artwork at first flourished through contact with the Euroamerican newcomers, were then devastated by smallpox and cultural-religious-economic imperialism, and--still more remarkably, testifying to the enormous resilience and strength of spirit of the Haida people (and their allies among the newcomers)--have rebounded to earn renewed acclaim.

The ancient homeland of Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands to us newcomers) is becoming an eco-tourist destination, even as the Haida fight efforts to log off the remaining old-growth forest cover.

The exhibit brings together over 300 pieces of formline-carved, painted, and woven objects (and occasional, more-geometrically decorated weavings) fashioned over more than two centuries of Haida artistic production. One can view masks and fragile argillite pipes collected by New England sea captain in the early 1800s, bracelets and model totem poles traded to early tourists and pioneering ethnologists, powerfully-symbolic "coppers" and provocative manga graphic art, most of superb quality, often as fresh as the day they left the maker's hands, gathered from a host of prestigious museum collections and knowledgeable private enthusiasts, and cunningly arranged.

The Vancouver mounting of the exhibit is not flawless, though the selection and sequence of the pieces is hard to fault. The main problem is lighting: several magnificent, bentwood bowls displayed in one corner are poorly lit; the design on one of two arrogant coppers is difficult to discern behind distracting reflections; many beautiful engraved gold or silver bracelets, pendants, and rings could benefit from some means of magnification, so their fine details could be appreciated; an enormous carved chest from the hands of the "Chicago Settee Master" is mounted so that one of its two carved and painted faces is impossible to inspect; and an entire case of carvings and engravings from the "Silent Era" of legally-imposed repression and displacement lacks any lighting at all!

These are quibbles, however: anyone with even the mildest interest in native culture or any art originating outside that of the European mainstream will find endless beauty and fascination in this show.

Highly commendable is the effort throughout to treat the artists--whether past or present--as individual and, in many cases, identifiable persons, each with his or her own biography, history, and motivations, rather than to treat the masters behind the art as anonymous, faceless, and generic "tribal crafts-people."

As my title for this review indicates, the "Raven Travelling" book makes a fine companion volume to this superb exhibit, but it too has its drawbacks. For those who have some minimal prior acquaintance with this art and culture, too many of the otherwise-interesting articles are recycled, including several previously-published essays by artist Bill Reid and a commentary by artist Robert Davidson (both incomparable artists, whose esthetic and philosophical viewpoints are arresting and engaging).

While the photographs, both those of the exhibited pieces and the archival photographs of people and places, are marvelous indeed, many of the archival photos have, likewise, been repeatedly reproduced before. While these arguably-"redundant" photos are as meritorious as the "recycled" essays (and frequently subserve the admirable aim of individuating the artists), and while a case can certainly be made for seizing this opportunity to make them accessible to a wider audience, their inclusion comes at some cost: this attractive volume is NOT a complete catalog and does NOT, therefore, serve to fully memorialize the exhibit from which it springs.

And this would be my chief complaint: while "exhibit catalog" perhaps sounds like a drier, more-scholarly, and less-appealing tome than does "coffee-table" photo-essay display volume, it seems to me that--with sufficient care and thought--and a little less recycling of contents, this book could have admirably served both functions. Once this exhibit has been seen in all its venues over the next year or so, it will be--for most purposes--gone for good unless appropriately memorialized. Those of us who have the good fortune of encountering the exhibit will be able to revisit it in memory, but many others--who might have "viewed" the exhibit over and over again through a comprehensive catalog--will now never have that opportunity.

Perhaps there ought to be a law! Somewhere, in the back of an otherwise-commendable book such as this one, ALL the pieces exhibited should be listed, giving appropriate collection data and provenance, in whatever minute font economy might dictate, with at least one well-chosen and well-lit b/w "glamor" photo of EACH and EVERY exhibited piece (again, not in full-page spread, but at whatever size adequately rewards detailed inspection while still accomodating printing costs).

Though this is not that ideal volume, it remains a magnificent and rewarding introduction to Haida art and culture. Despite the pieces and information that are missing, what it does include is incomparable (and, in at least a few cases, such as the hard-to-view copper, which appears in a clear color photo in the book, makes up for the exhibit's mounting gaffes).

Peter MacNair's meditation on the art and the artists of the 19th Century is a thorough and valuable resource, prepared by one of the five or six pre-eminient scholars of this art-style, and would be worth the price of the entire volume as a stand-alone, lavishly-illustrated essay. (Again, though, I have one quibble: an interior house post, knowledgeably-attributed to the "Chicago Settee Master" by prior scholars, is here identified in a photo caption as the work of Paul Jones, who is in prior scholarly work identified as the owner of the house, but not as the artist who carved the pole--traditionally, these would rarely have been the same individual. Elsewhere in his text, MacNair discusses the "Chicago Settee Master" and his distinctive style in some detail. I was left wondering whether house-owner Jones and the "Chicago Settee Master" have now been determined to be one and the same, or whether objects previously-attributed to the CSM are now being re-attributed to two different carvers.)

Again, these are the veriest quibbles. "Raven Travelling" is a sumptuous resource; even the quality of ink, paper, and printing are of the highest--in fact, I have heard it rumored that once the initial print run has sold out, it may not be economically-feasible to publish further editions.

So, snap up this magnificent volume while you can!

A BLUE WATER NAVY: The Official Operational History of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War 1943-1945, Volume Two, Part 2

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A BLUE WATER NAVY: The Official Operational History of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War 1943-1945, Volume Two, Part 2
W Douglas
Manufacturer: Vanwell Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1551250675

Book Description

Although the Royal Canadian Navy had spent the early years of the Second World War in a desperate struggle against German U-boats on the North Atlantic convoy routes, the service's professional officers never lost sight of the need to build a balanced national navy, one that included the larger warships required for Canada to project its naval power around the globe.

Part 2 of the Official Operational History continues the story of the Royal Canadian Navy begun in No Higher Purpose and carries the narrative into the decisive final years of the Second World War, as the navy largely achieves its "blue water" ambitions. Based on extensive research in Canadian, British, American and German archives, A Blue Water Navy follows the RCN's path to victory from 1943 to 1945 as Canadian warships engage the enemy across the globe in the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific Oceans as well as in the dangerous waters of the European littoral.

Beginning with the Allies' North Atlantic triumph over the German submarine arm in April-May 1943, the volume examines the navy's many roles in European waters, including the RCN's combined operations role in the amphibious assaults on Dieppe, northwest Africa and Sicily; the procurement of large fleet destroyers and their operations guarding important Arctic and Mediterranean bound convoys; and the culmination of the RCN's overseas buildup with Operation Neptune and the invasion of Normandy.

A Blue Water Navy recounts the multitude of tasks Canadian naval forces performed in the war's final phases, from motor-torpedo boat, minesweeping and fleet operations to the inshore anti-submarine campaign. In tracing the acquisition of cruisers and Canadian-manned escort carriers, this important and well-illustrated history thoroughly explores the world-wide scope of the Royal Canadian Navy's involvement in the Second World War and its transition from a small-ship navy into a balanced force.

A Blue Water Navy was written by a team of professional historians and has been in preparation for many years. The first volume of this official history, No Higher Purpose, was highly praised by veterans of the RCN, current sailors and naval officers, and students of military and naval history. This second volume will be equally well received.

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Two Solicitudes: Conversations
Margaret Atwood , and Victor-Levy Beaulieu
Manufacturer: McClelland & Stewart
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0771008368
Release Date: 1998-05-23

Minding the Darkness: A Poem for the Year 2000

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Magnificent Poem
A subtle masterpiece
A Masterpiece

Minding the Darkness: A Poem for the Year 2000
Peter Dale Scott
Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0811214540

Book Description

Minding the Darkness completes one of the most exciting trilogies of our time, which began with Coming to Jakarta (1989) and Listening to the Candle (1992). Minding the Darkness is the final volume of Peter Dale Scott's landmark trilogy, following Coming to Jakarta and Listening to the Candle. It brings to a stunning, triumphant conclusion a remarkable and sui generis poem. "There is nothing quite like these books," as the American Book Review remarked: "Scott's trilogy, only two-thirds completed as yet, is certain to be one of the most remarkable and challenging works of our time." The apogee of Scott's long hypnotic epic poem about the political and the personal, and their darkly powerful relationships, Minding the Darkness gathers extraordinary energy by way of its Poundian collage and tight three-line stanzas. With riveting images and eerie, accumulated juxtapositions, Minding the Darkness fully bears out James Laughlin's opinion that "Not since Robert Duncan's Groundwork and before that, William Carlos Williams' Paterson, has New Directions published a long poem as important as Peter Dale Scott's."

Customer Reviews:

Magnificent Poem.......2003-07-09

Please read this extraordinary multi-leveled poem. Starting with the great Berkeley fire of 1991, Scott meditates on the tragedy in history which up to now has been chiefly the experience of those on other continents. From a Buddhist perspective, he distills a lifetime of teaching, political activism and investigative research into this final volume of his long poem Seculum. Echoing Dante, and a millenarian monk from the year 1000, he sees the ills of our time as stemming from covetousness. At the same time he discerns hope for America if it can pursue the aspirations of its founding fathers for a better society. He concludes with reflections on how language can help us to the right way in which to love our world.

A subtle masterpiece.......2003-05-23

Peter Dale Scott's beautiful and ethereal poem "Minding the Darkness" reveals an immensely
civilized author coming to grips with the many crimes of civilization, expressing the intersection
of the poet's life and the twentieth century in a way which illuminates the efforts of a truly
engaged intellectual to document experiences of collective denial and complicity with
horror which characterize political modernity.

A Masterpiece.......2001-03-05

In this extraordinary poem, Peter Dale Scott explores the depth and scope of his humanity as he takes the reader on a brilliant and surprising journey through the landscapes of not only his own personal history, but the history of politics, philosophy, ideas and literature.

Like all great poetry, Scott feeds our souls because his poem tells the truth and because his words, in their beautiful and erudite combinations, point us toward the shimmering reality that lies beyond words and within each of us, in each moment.

Book Description

A black comedy about a journey to Hell. When a man dies in the hospital, he has an out-of-body experience in Hell, and is tormented in a barrel of boiling oil by a demon with a death-wish. Meanwhile, back at the hospital, a strange Doctor tries to raise the man from the dead by injecting him with drugs!

Customer Reviews:

An "Us Criticism".......2006-03-10

I liked "Two Demons and a Dead Man" by Chris Lindsay. Each work of Chris has its own certain precious qualities. I found this work as a mixture of allegory and comedy. You may start laughing somewhere in the play, but suddenly you come to realize that they are also laughing: you can hear them laughing at people in society. The other interesting new feature of this work is that it has gone beyond a "social criticism;" it is a "Universal Criticism," or it is better to say, it is an "Us Criticism." Though a criticism, it gives us some hope at the end; and this is a new, rare, and invaluable style: perhaps the best for our time. Chris Lindsay, so artistically, has preserved all these qualities by means of an uncomplicated, but still impressive, language in his work.

And Equal Sequel.......2006-01-10

Just when you thought it was over for Bob, back he comes. One of BC's best characters is resurrected in this sequel to the hilarious "The Man Who Loved Working Women", and the introduction of deeper beings only adds to the storyline. Definitely designed for a dual or split set, this play stays true to Chris Lindsay's form, continuing the pace set by the first. I have shared this with a few friends and the reaction was unanimously positive.

An Enjoyable Play.......2006-01-05

Don't be fooled by the title, because this play is anything but dark and sinister. Lindsay has done a skillful job of incorporating wit and humour into the normally disturbing topics of hell, devils and demons. The characters' antics are sure to generate a smile or chuckle. Prepare for a funny and enjoyable read.

Funny as Hell.......2005-11-22

Chris Lindsay's play "Two Demons and a Dead Man" has seen multiple incarnations over itslifespan. "Formerly entitled "Burn in Hell" then "Journey to Hell," the play is now being re-released under its most clever and original title to date. The play itself has received a major overhaul, with existing scenes and characters receiving makeovers of varying severity, while several secondary characters have been cut out completely.

For the uninitiated, this play is the tale of Bob, a womanizing accountant who dies of a heart attack in the opening scene. Of course, it's after his death that the real story begins.

We follow Bob through his descent into Hell, his meeting with Deadly and Firehead-- the titular two demons, and his guided tour of the underworld. I should point out that this is no Dante's Inferno, though. Lindsay's Hell is a darkly comic world of boilings in oil, endless stairways, and flame-spewing demons. And of course, a handful of colourful damned souls for
Bob to meet.

The play's scope, however, is--for better or worse-not limited to the depths of Hades. The hellish scenes of Bob's torment are juxtaposed nicely with scenes of Bob's grieving loved ones getting up to all sorts of bizarre antics in his hospital room. Their quasi-successful attempts to revive Bob supply ample humour for the audience, as well as endless aggravation for the demons, as Bob continually shifts back and forth between worlds.

The hospital, as it turns out, is no less colourful than Hell. A place of alien doctors, escaped mental patients, andatrocious medical care facilities, it holds up quite well as a secondary location for goings on.

As you may have already guessed, I thoroughly enjoyed this latest version of Chris Lindsay's literary journey to hell. Sadly, despite its many improvements the play still has its flaws. Some of the dialogue remains awkward, longwinded or even unnecessary, and a few of the jokes are just plain unfunny. But these are minor quibbles. "Two Demons" is, as they say, more than the sum of its parts. Sarcastic, clever, sometimes irreverent, and always entertaining, "Two Demons and a Dead Man" has become the play it always should have been.

A Bad Day In Hell.......2005-11-07

Two Demons and a Dead Man is a great sequel to Chris Lindsay's first screenplay, The Man Who Loved Working Women. With the strength of some of the original characters and the introduction of new ones, Lindsay succeeds in tackling the touchy topic of Hell in a hilarious fashion while adding in a humourful dose of insanity, love, lust and religion. Don't let the title fool you-- there is nothing serious about this play, nor its subject as the playwright takes you on a ride to Hell-- and back-- and lets you be the judge.

I Knew Two Metis Women: The Lives of Dorothy Scofield and Georgina Houle Young

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I Knew Two Metis Women: The Lives of Dorothy Scofield and Georgina Houle Young
Gregory Scofield
Manufacturer: Polestar Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1896095968

Book Description

"This is courageous writing... [Scaffold's] directness and ease are like a gift of speech, a contagious freedom. Balancing anger and forgiveness, he applies his tender or sardonic touch to weighty subjects-poverty, racism, sexual abuse, street life-without diminishing their seriousness." -Vancouver Sun

Artifacts from "A Coat of Many Colors: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Canada" (Canadian Museum of Civilization Mercury Series)

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Artifacts from "A Coat of Many Colors: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Canada" (Canadian Museum of Civilization Mercury Series)
Sandra Morton Weizman
Manufacturer: Canadian Museum Of Civilization
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

For Your Tomorrow: Canadians and the Burma Campaign, 1941-1945

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For Your Tomorrow: Canadians and the Burma Campaign, 1941-1945
Robert Farquharson
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Seventy minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbour, the Japanese forces launched the invasion that in five months rolled unstoppably across the whole of Burma. In March 1944 the Japanese commander stood on the border to India, his eyes bright with the vision of marching in triumph into Delhi. What followed was the ten-week long siege of the border town of Imphal and the biggest defeat the Japanese Army ever suffered. Then the Allied forces turned on their ruthless enemy and drove him southward to the sea even more rapidly than he had advanced in 1942. By mid-June 1945 the Japanese Army in Burma was completely disorganized and destroyed. Of the 300,000 Japanese soldiers who swaggered into Burma, only 118,000 ever returned home.

It is surprising how little the Burma Campaign is known in Canada, and even more surprising how little is known of Canadians involvement in it. In the air Canadians flew fighter planes that conquered Japan's Oscars, Zekes and Zeroes and manned the bombers that broke the back of the River Kwae Railway. Two RCAF pilots salvaged the wreckage of a light plane and used it to rescue British soldiers wounded two hundred miles behind enemy lines. A Canadian was in charge of the mules for one of the Wingate's Chindit columns. It was a Canadian pilot who discovered the Japanese fleet steaming toward Ceylon. A Canadian doctor laboured day and night to save the wounded in the flight from Burma and in the siege of Imphal and ended up as personal surgeon to the last Viceroy of India. The Burma Campaign was almost completely supplied by air and Canadian crews flew more than one third of those supply missions.

Canadians were awarded more than 150 decorations for merit and bravery in Burma, including one Victoria Cross. Approximately 8000 Canadians served there and 500 of these gave their lives in the Burma Campaign. For Your Tomorrow tells the story of the Campaign and of the Canadians who fought in it.

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