Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 18, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba Books sunday free press n o Winnipeg. May 18, 1997 do Spring crop of picture books in full Blossom by Helen Norrie for the free press anew crop of picture books is almost As Welcome after blizzards and floods As the first Spring tulips and this years offerings Are in full Blossom. Winnipeg author and University professor Perry Nodelman has captured the confusion and contradictory pressures that often assault children in his humorous picture Book Alice Falls apart Bain and Cox. Alice has trouble keeping herself under control. She finds she has literally a fallen apart Quot into 14 different Alices. The Book ends with a Clever twist when Alice pulls herself together but her father splits in two As he realizes he is saying one thing and thinking another. Victoria artist Stuart Duncan a humorous illustrations helped this Book win the recent Manitoba Book design of the year award for children a books. For a stunningly illustrated folktale the first red Maple Leaf by czechoslovakian born author and artist Ludmilla Zeman Tundra is Worth examining especially for its design and illustration. Modern legend Zeman who came to Canada As a refugee and now lives in British Columbia wrote this modern legend to explain to her children the importance of Canadas Symbol. Her glowing Oil pastel illustrations surround the text on All sides with a profusion of Colour and detail. When the monster ice heart keeps the country locked in Winter a Young boy frees a Canada Goose from under a fallen tree and in return receives his help. Travelling South the Goose persuades Many of the Birds to return North for part of the year and bring summer with them. The Bare Winter branches of the Trees become transformed with the Multi coloured Birds and soon leaves take their place to shelter the people of the Forest. Zeman concludes Quot whatever the season the red Maple Leaf shelters my new country. For me it represents the sense of safety i Felt when i came Here with my also on a theme of Maple Trees at books grandpas sugar Bush by Margaret Carney kids can press is a heartwarming picture Story Book about a Young boy helping his Grandfather make Maple syrup in the Spring. Told through the boys eyes and through Ontario artist Janet Wilson a skilful and evocative pictures this Book will bring Back memories not Only of old fashioned a sugaring off a but of close family moments. Amazing Grace the Story of the hymn by Linda Granfield Tundra is also illustrated by Janet Wilson. This is the Story of John Newton who first published the words of the famous hymn in 1771. As a teenager he was press ganged by an unscrupulous sea Captain and worked As a slave in Sierra Leone. Finally freed he Rose to Captain slave hearing ships himself Between Africa and the West indies. Then after a religious Awakening during a raging storm off the coast of Newfoundland he became a methodist preacher and hymn writer and an Active abolitionist. Janet Wilson a artwork in amazing Grace is remarkable for its use of Light and Shadow and its glowing colours reminiscent of stained Glass windows. The words of the hymn which Are presented with music reflect Newman a own struggles with Faith and conscience. While the text is interesting it is much too extensive for a picture Story Book. It is More suitable for Ages 12 and Over where it would be useful for research into history of the slave Trade. My great aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston with illustrations by Susan Condie Lamb Harper Colli shas just appeared for the first time in paperback. Based on the True Story of a Pioneer schoolteacher who inspired generations of children it is a wholesome tribute to the profession As Well As a Good Story for beginning readers. Bestsellers based on sales at Mcnally Robinson booksellers As of May 13 hardcovers mass Market 1 simple abundance Sarah ban breath Nach. Inspiration. $22.95 2. Alias Grace Margaret Atwood. Canadian fiction. $32.50 3 Boom bust and Echo How to profit from the coming demographic shift David foot with Daniel Stoffman. Business. $29.95 4. Angelas ashes Frank Mccourt. Biography.$34.50 5. Dust to dust Timothy Findley. Canadian fiction. $28.00 6. The partner John Grisham. Fiction. $34.95 7. Flowers on my grave. Ruth Teichroeb. Issues. $26.00 a 8. Just As i am Billy Graham. Memoir. $35.00 9. 3001 the final Odyssey Arthur c. Clarke. Science fiction. $35.00 10. Markings scenes and recollections of Winnipeg a North end a. J. Paquette. Art. $48.00 a 1. Malice. Danielle Steele. Fiction. $8.99 2. Promises. Belva Plain. Fiction. $8.99 3. The last Don Mario Puzo. Fiction. $9.99 4 Star wars shadows of the Empire Steve Perry. Science fiction. $7.99 5. Scolds bridle Minette Walters. Mystery. $7.99 6. Ghost Way Tony Hillerman. Mystery. $6.99 7. I know Why the caged Bird sings Maya Angelou. Autobiography. $6.99 8 matters of Choice Noah Gordon. Fiction. $7.99 9 the runaway jury John Grisham. Fiction. $10.99 10. Shadows of steel Dale Brown. Fiction. $8.99 books for Young people Trade paperback 1. Summer of my amazing Luck Miriam Toews. Canadian fiction. $16.95 a 2. The English patient Michael Ondatje. Canadian fiction. $14.95 3. She a come undone Wally Lamb. Fiction. $19.00 4. Stones from the River Ursula Hegi. Fiction. $18 00 5. The two headed calf Sandra Birdsell. Canadian fiction.$19.99� 6. The rapture of Canaan Sheri Reynolds. Fiction. $17.00 7. A year of lesser David Bergen. Canadian fiction. $16.00 a 9. Song of Solomon Toni Morrison. Fiction. $15.99 8. Loone spoons Gloria Podleski. Canadian cooking. $24.95 10. Where children run Karen Emil son. Manitoba issues. $19,950 1 a place not Home Eva Wiseman. Canadian teen novel. $6.95 o 2. Of you re not from the Prairie David Bouchard and Henry Ripplinger. Canadian pict rebook. $19.95 3. Slinky Matinki Lynley Dodd. Picture Book. $5.99 4. Franklin goes to Day Camp Paulette Bourgeois. Canadian picture activity Book. $3.95 5. Daniels Story Carol Matas. Canadian teen novel. $4.99 a 6. Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown. Board Book. $9.25 7. Tiotala Margaret Shaw Mackinnon. Canadian pict rebook. $17.95 a 8. Love you forever Robert Munsch. Canadian pict rebook $4.99 9. Goosebumps 55 the Blob that ate everything r l. Stine. Series fiction. Ages 8-11 .$4.99 10. Promise song Linda Holeman. Canadian teen novel. $8.95 a g Manitoba authors tale better than Par Golf great Nicklaus revealing in autobiography children s my Story by Jack Nicklaus with Ken Bowden dist can 505 pages $30___ reviewed by Mike Fields Knight Ridder newspapers it was 11 years ago that Jack Nicklaus marched through the Pines of Augusta a National Golf club on his Way to one of the most remarkable victories in sports history. At 46, Nicklaus came from Well off the Pace to win his sixth masters tournament a and his 20th major Golf championship. That stunning Triumph makes for a perfect final chapter in Jack Nicklaus my Story the Long awaited and candid autobiography of the Man generally regarded As the greatest golfer of All time. Yes Nicklaus is still out there walking the fairways of professional Golf but he better than anybody recognizes that glories on the senior pea tour Are Little More than Cash and ceremony. So he wisely saw fit to end his Story with his last meaningful Victory. The Columbus Ohio native has always been a straight talker. To some his bluntness carries a Trace of arrogance. But when it comes to Golf maybe he has earned a right to imagined infallibility. It seems foolish to argue with him after Reading his Book which focuses on his major titles two . Amateurs six masters four . Opens three British opens and five pea championships. Nicklaus goes into sometimes tedious detail describing his most memorable victories but his treatment of his most memorable defeats including Tom Watson schip in that beat him in the 1982 . Open is More revealing a sure there was some Luck in Watson a shot but Over the years i had enjoyed at least As Many Lucky Breaks against others As had gone against me. There was nothing to do but keep it in perspective use it to inspire More work to try harder next for Golf fans Well versed in Nick Lauss achievements the More interesting parts of my Story Deal with his personal background such As How a Guy nicknamed a Blob boy and a whale Many at Ohio state University evolved into pro Golf so Golden bears icon. How he spent most of his honeymoon hopscotch ing from one great Golf course to another. How after seeing a film clip of himself in the 1962 . Open surveying a Birdie putt with a cigarette dangling from his lips he was a a appalled at the image and never smoked in tournament Golf again. How he is superstitious enough to carry three pennies in his pocket every time he plays. Nicklaus also gives us Quality time describing his relationship with his heroes a his father Charlie his longtime teacher Jack Grout and the legendary Bobby Jones. Nicklaus also gives us his unvarnished take on his contemporaries. He pays tribute to Arnold Palmer whose throne he aspired to in the Early �?T60s. In his time Palmer was a the emperor in chief of contemporary american sports but Nicklaus admits to adopting the attitude that a Palmer was just another player another Guy trying to go my Way on a track Only wide enough for As for Watson Nicklaus admires his grit but he also notes Quot you can be talking to Tom and have the sense that although he a listening on the surface on the inside he a not really with Nicklaus Needles Gary players penchant for exaggeration. A a Gary a one Pec Cadillo. Is a certain Boyish theatrical Quality a sort of hyper this Book is up to Date enough that Tiger Woods . The new Nicklaus earns mention As someone who could threaten All of his records. If Woods is smart hell pick up a copy of my Story and use it As a tour guide for his own career. Nicklaus straight shooter predictions of life in 20 years carry a whiff of Mothballs with them the next Twenty years of your life by Richard Worzel Stoddart 294 pages. $27_ reviewed by Joanne Reid a Winnipeg writer and internet Junkie w hat will your life be like in 20 years if you re like most people you a really like to know. Subtitled a personal guide into the year 2017, Ontario based Futurist Richard Worzell a Book the next Twenty years of your life purports to provide the answer. Its an interesting Book for people who Are fascinated by the possibilities of the 21st Century. Worzel weaves together science fiction Type scenarios of our daily lives in 20 years and some straight no nonsense analysis of workplace financial health and education issues. And yet it is oddly lacking in Impact. The vignettes featuring such things As the computer Genie that is apparently a direct descendant of today a personal organizer sometimes have a whiff of Mothballs about them. They Are rather like reruns of the original Star trek set in the far Distant future where people can travel from universe to universe yet the women Are still made up like �?T60s versions of Barbie in space. Almost there but not quite. Similarly when Worzel discusses How aspects of our lives Are changing the speculations Are not so much about changes As they Are about variations on a theme. Regarding the face of Canadian politics in 20 years time his thought is that women will hold a great Deal More Power and wealth than they do now. Quot men May not like these changes a he writes a but the smart ones will recognize the changes to come and ride the wave of women a emerging couple this with Worzell a View of the future for workers. Those who want to continue to work had better keep on studying because the future will be Bleak Forlow skilled people. So when he writes of the empowerment of women he clearly Means women of the elite those already blessed. It has Ever been thus. The faces the hairdos the genders May change but the ruling elite will remain the ruling elite. As for the Large number of people who Are going to be unemployed and unskilled in 2017, find another Book to give hints about your future. While the Book is diverse and Well documented it is destined to become outdated very quickly. Author shatters Swiss Bank myth of neutrality nazi Gold by Tom Bower Harper Collins 381 pages $35.50 reviewed by Allan Levine a Winnipeg historian and writer some myths deserve to be shattered. In this important Book British journalist and television producer Tom Bower exposes a big one. Switzerland has Long cultivated its image As Neutral especially during the devastation caused by the second world War. As Hitler and his nazi horde trampled across Europe the Swiss perpetuated the myth that they acted honourably a that they dealt compassionately with refugees and reluctantly with nazis. According to Bower also the author of the paperclip conspiracy which exposed the Allied use of nazi scientists in the postwar Era nothing could be further from the truth. In particular the actions of Swiss Bankers during and after the War has been both shocking and appalling. The Pride of the european financial Community possessing a historic reputation for secrecy and fairness the Banks functioned As a depository for nazi loot a including millions of dollars in Gold ingots made out of the dental fillings extracted from jews murdered at nazi death Camps. Until very recently the Bankers also have refused with an inexplicable stubborn determination to Deal justly and honestly with jewish claims of Long lost Bank accounts funds that were deposited during the War to protect them from the massive nazi confiscation of jewish property. With a rarely witnessed they have turned away holocaust survivors and their descendants unable to produce Correct account numbers and death certificates from Auschwitz and other concentration Camps. A this is not just a Story about a handful of pitiless Bankers hoarding the wealth of a ravaged continent while spurning the pleas of defenceless survivors of the holocaust a Bower writes. A it is a sensational accusation that a country whose citizens Over the past Century boasted to their Neighbours about their enviable wealth was quite knowingly profiting from blood ignore pleas Bower a research shows that even before the War had ended Swiss Bankers had decided As a group to ignore jewish pleas for restitution of their own Money. Then when they were pressed by jewish and world leaders to offer compensation for the a a hairless assets a the Bankers arrived at an amount they knew to be Low. Only in the past year has a widely publicized Campaign led by Canadian businessman Edgar Bronfman the head of the world jewish Congress sufficiently embarrassed both the Swiss Bankers and the country a politicians for them to take More responsible action. But for countless holocaust survivors denied their rightful inheritances for the past five decades however this recent Swiss offer of compensation is far too late. Briefly noted the Wisdom of the body by Sherman b. Nuland Knopf 395 pages $35_ Isaac Asimov reduced physics to a readable language and introduced excitement into a Dull subject. Carl Sagan did so with astrophysics and Oliver sacks with neurology. Now the award winning . Author Sherwin b. Nuland author of How we die does this for our understanding of the human body. Nuland seeks to reintegrate science Art experience and metaphysics. He succeeds As nearly As one can at the current stage of human knowledge in rediscovering the Unity of the physical and spiritual nature of Man reuniting science with philosophy and religion and recovering the value purpose and sacredness of life. Knight Ridder newspapers Bear and his daughter by Robert Stone Thomas Allen amp sons 222 pages. $33 since Ken Kesey dropped out and has had to play catch up it can be fairly said that Stone is the Best . Novelist the counterculture produced. Soon he will publish the sixth novel in his 30-year career. Bear and his daughter collects his six previously published Short stories plus one new one the title Story. That Means he has published a new Short Story about As often As he has published a new novel. This is a testament less to stones Choice of form As to his unsparing craftsmanship. Knight Ridder newspapers on the night table Gail Asper Winnipeg lawyer and arts Patron a i m Reading three novels. The English patient by Michael Ondatje fugitive pieces by Anne Michaels and beaches by Pat Conroy. I m really enjoying the English patient. Ifs much different than the movie which i also liked. Ifs like Reading a ;