Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 20, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba Editor Morley Walker / 697-7307 email , books sunday free press Winnipeg july 20, 1997 a Canoe review cuts wide Wake idleness water and a Canoe by Jamie Benedickson University of Toronto press 299 pages $18 reviewed by Harry Rintoul a Winnipeg playwright inn1 i the ingredients of a Holiday in the Queen s quarterly instructed readers in the Spring of 1940, a Are idleness water and a from this statement Jamie Benedickson associate professor at the University of Ottawa draws the title of his new Book subtitled reflections on paddling for pleasure an intensive look at the Canoe As an aesthetic social historical and economic phenomenon. This is not a history of recreational paddling. It is not a a How to Book. Instead Benedickson has chosen to address the mystique of the Canoe. Beni Dickson a research is impeccable. Drawing on books newspaper articles unusual records Eclectic ephemera and interviews with enthusiasts he presents a concise evolution of the Canoe. To the aboriginal the Canoe was transportation its design rudimentary and functional. It was adopted by the Voyageur and explorers who used it first to open the new land and then carry the wealth of newly discovered resources Back East and into Europe. With the urbanization of North America the Canoe became less of a tool and More a pleasure Craft. As Many people need to hear the song of the paddle and a new Book explains Why. The a wilderness Quot disappeared the desire to return to it grew. The quest for spiritual and physical renewal led to the formation of the Canoe clubs and the summer Camp where Young boys and girls Canadian ufos history weak by being objective the ufos files the Canadian connection exposed by Palmiro Campagna Stoddart 207 pages reviewed by Ian Mckie a Winnipeg ufos zealot thirty years ago Winnipeg resident Stefan Michalak had a close encounter with an unknown aircraft in a scene that can parallel any episode of tvs a files. A a a Saucer had landed near where he was prospecting just North of the City. For some time he observed the Craft and heard the distinctly human voices of its occupants. The Craft elevated and departed leaving Michalak burned doused in radiation and ill for months. This encounter and Many others including evidence suggesting the development of experimental military aircraft compose the ufos files. Department of National defence Engineer Palmiro Campagna presents the ufos Phenomena in Canada Over the last 50 years. The material is organized in a Way that encourages readers to draw their own conclusions. But this is the very Point where the Book is weak. There is Little argument and too much a a objectivity and rhetorical innuendo. Readers draw conclusions regardless of what is written. Campagna has nothing to lose if he were More firmly situated within the debate shamelessly providing his views. Bestsellers based on sales at Mcnally Robinson booksellers As of july 14 hardcovers mass Market 1. The partner John Grisham. Fiction. $34.95 2. Martha Stewart just desserts Jerry Oppenheimer. Biography. $31.00 3. Boom bust and Echo How to profit from the coming demographic shift David foot with Daniel Stoffman. Business. $29.95 4. Fall on your Knees Anne Marie Macdonald. Canadian fiction. $29.95 5. Simple abundance Sarah ban breath Nach. Inspiration. $22.95 6. The Celestine prophecy. Fiction. James Redfield. $23.95 7. Promise cities Naomi Wolf. Women s studies. $29.95 8 conversations with god Book 1, Neale d. Walsch. Religion. $26.95 9. The gift of fear Gavin Debecker. Memoir. $30.95 10. Its just Prairie Ron Richardson. Photography. $34.00 Trade paperback 1. The deep end of the Ocean Jacquelyn Mitchard. Fiction. $9.99 2. The third twin Ken Follett. Fiction. $9.99 3. The fourth estate Jeffrey Archer. Fiction. $9.50 4. Contact Carl Sagan. Science fiction. $8.99 5. The runaway jury John Grisham. Fiction. $10.99 6. Women on top Nancy Friday. Psychology. $8.99 7 women who run with the wolves Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Women s studies. $9.99 8. Menoch the Devil Anne Rice. Fiction. $9.99 9. Moonlight becomes you Mary Higgins Clark. Mystery. $9.99 10. The main Corpse. Diane Mott Davidson. Mystery. $7.99 books for Young people 1. Canoeing Manitoba a Rivers John Buchanan. Outdoors. $14.95 a 2. Summer of my amazing Luck 3 Miriam Toews. Canadian fiction. $16.95 a 3. The heart of a woman Maya 4 Angelou. Memoir. $15.95 4. Fugitive pieces Ann Michaels. 5 Canadian fiction. $19.99 5. Songs in Ordinary time Mary Mcgarry Morris. Fiction. $17.99 6 6. She a come undone Wally Lamb. Fiction. $19.00 7. Stones from the River Ursula 7 Hegi. Fiction. $18.00 8. A Fine balance Rohinton mistry. 8 Canadian fiction. $19.99 9. The Book of Ruth Jane Hamilton. 9 fiction. $16.95 10. Song of Solomon Toni Morrison. 10 fiction. $15.99 Manitoba authors love you forever Robert Munsch. Canadian pict rebook. $4.95 Slinky Matinki Lynley Dodd. Picture Book. $6.99 of you re not from the Prairie. David Bouchard and Henry Ripplinger. Canadian pict rebook. $19.95 goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown. Boar Book. $9.25 Franklin a new Friend Paulette Bourgeois. Canadian pict rebook. $4.95 Mega morphs 1 andante s gift . Applegate. Series fiction. Ages 8-11. $4.99 girls to the Rescue Book 1, Bruce Lansky. Anthology. $5.95 goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown. Pict rebook. $6.75 the magicians Nephew . Lewis. Fiction. Ages 8 amp up. $7.95 goosebumps 57 my Best Friend is invisible . Stine. Series fiction. Ages 8-11. $4.99 were encouraged to a make the utmost of an outdoor Holiday and Foster a vital relationship with the the writings of Ernest Thompson Seton launched the woodcraft Indi ans reintroducing the values of the native culture. The native aesthetic intertwined with Christian ethics of hard work and Devotion. Young minds and Bod ies were strengthened by the Canoe trip an exercise in self Reliance and co operation. The development of Canoe clubs and the summer wilderness Camps Manitoba included across Canada and the United states is detailed and extensive. There is the comparison of the Canadian Canoe and the american ours is better the americans use sails on their Sand the refinement in materials from Birch bark Wood and Canvas to aluminium and fibreglass. Benedickson clearly shows the influence Early enthusiasts such As Grey owl Seton and John a Rob Roy Quot Macgregor among others had in the metamorphosis of the Public image of the Canoe first described by Early europeans As a crude Craft used Only by Savages. Idleness water and a Canoe cuts a wide Wake. Benedickson shows us the Canoe in the literary landscape of Atwood Moodie Rupert Brooke and Longfellow and the world of the visual arts and modern adventurers. Canoe carried Tom Thompson and members of the group of seven into Algonquin Park and Don Starkell on his paddle to the Amazon. Whether you Are a seasoned Veteran avid canoeist or beginner idleness water and a Canoe is a Rich resource which offers More than one explanation As to Why when idleness is at a Premium so Many of us need to hear the song of the paddle. Campagna is strongest when he discusses the Avro car suggesting that Many a a encounters Are probably brushes with experimental military aircraft. During the paranoia of the cold War Campagna argues alien encounter stories were leaked in order that soviet intelligence would believe that americans had Access to alien technology. Did people actually believe this there were further intelligence leaks that suggested the nazis and later the soviets had developed Saucer Craft. These aircraft had strategic military advantage in that vertical Takeoff and Landing pads could be established on any terrain. This is probably the reason the Avro car was in development during the late �?T50s and Early �?T60s. However like the Arrow the Avro car lost vital funding much of it american and the project was eventually scrapped. That there May be government secrets concerning experimental aircraft sounds plausible. That there is an organized program of disinformation concerning confirmed alien encounters is improbable. In some cases air bound Phenomena resist explanation. At these junctures we tend to speculate but speculation needs to be plausible. Campagna suggests that ultimately interpretations of encounters May be driven by belief. He would have been far More convincing had he applied the disciplined thought that is required of him As an Engineer to his material. Questions remain unanswered for expected sequel to teen novel by Helen Norrie for the free press Winnipeg author Ishbel Moore a previous three books have been aimed at the nine-12 age group. Her latest Book Dolina May Roussalis obviously designed for older readers with the theme of a Street Wise City girl of 17 who storms out of her boyfriends car on a Remote Road in Manitoba and ends up spending the weekend on a farm. Not Only is the farm itself completely unknown territory for Dolina May but so is the family which lives there. Brought up without a father by a Mother who is a drug addict Dolina has Little self esteem and is suspicious of the Friendly reception she receives from the Cameron family. Moore a portrayal of Dolina May As a Tough but vulnerable Young woman is convincing. It includes realistic dialogue that some May find offensive. Her other characters however especially Spencer Cameron the romantic interest of the novel seem mainly foils to Dolinay a personality. The Book leaves a number of unanswered questions. Will Dolina find her missing father can Spencer see inside her mask of invulnerability will her invisible Mother surface the Book seems designed to have a sequel and this by reliable sources is on the Way. At age 29, Toronto writer Kenneth Oppel is a rising Star in the Field of children so o o let s Young adult literature having already published 14. In his new Book Silver Wing Harper Collinske dares to take As his hero none other than a tiny Sil verging Bat. It is a tribute to oppels Powers of imagination As Well As to his extensive research that the feelings and ambitions of Shade his Small hero Are portrayed so vividly. Shade is a rebel and when his desire to see the Sun leads to destruction of his Colony a Home he is outlawed As the bats begin their southward migration. His journey is also a journey of self discovery As he befriends a Young female Bat of a different species meets a giant Jungle Bat who attempts to destroy him Battles Bloodthirsty rats and eventually links up again with his Colony. Silvering is part fantasy part adventure and part unusual animal Story. Whatever it is called it is a Good read. Chasing Redbird by newbery award winning author Sharon Creech Joanna Cotler Harper Collinss also about a voyage of discovery but of a very different kind. Zinny Taylor lives on her family eloquence appeals farm in Kentucky with Many Brothers and Sisters. When she discovers traces of an abandoned Trail starting behind their farm she is determined to Clear it and discover its history and destination. As Zinny toils to uncover the secret of the Trail she also exposes some hidden truths about her own childhood. This is a beautifully written Book with a hint of mystery that is guaranteed to catch attention. While it seems aimed at the nine-12 age group Zinny is 13 the length of the Book 261 pages and the Quality of its language make it More appropriate for slightly older readers. The latest novel by award winning Vancouver writer kit Pearson is called awake and dreaming Viking. With a heroine named Theo in Grade 4, this Book is definitely aimed at an Elemen tary school audience. Its somewhat confusing plot involves the ghost of a dead woman writer who tries to help Theo by writing her into a perfect family a quite unlike her own Mother who has never been Able to provide a secure Home for Theo. When a Large portion of the Book turns out to be a fantasy that is Only part of the ghosts imagination it leaves the Reader disillusioned. Has Theo really Learned that real life is never perfect will her Mother turn Over a new Leaf and provide a stable Home for Theo with both of these outcomes dubious the novel ends on an unsatisfactory note. The origin of Waves by Austin Clarke Mcclelland amp Stewart 245 pages $20______ reviewed by Nick Martin a free press reporter w to says men can to talk about intimate stuff Tim and John sure do. In Austin Clarkes new novel the origin of Waves they talk about lost loves unrequited love impotency children and the Lack thereof Cuc Kolding aging nostalgic longing for childhood systemic racism loneliness truth and maybe truths. Tim a Clarkes first person narrator a and John Are boyhood chums from Barbados. They literally bump into each other decades later on Yonge Street in Toronto in a raging snowstorm. They spend the rest of the Book getting pleasantly plastered in a cosy dimly lit bar. Its the first Book in several years from Clarke an outstanding Toronto based novelist academic and civil rights activist whose own arrival in Toronto from Barbados to attend University in the 1950s parallels times background. Times the withdrawn one who a immigrated to Toronto Ages ago and stayed though he yearns for a barbadian Beach and Village. There Spain in times past and heaps of loneliness though it goes without saying that it la take the better part of the novel for his Story to trickle out. And done to get too upset that Clarke does no to tidy up All the Loose ends. John meanwhile has drifted around Europe and the u.s., supposedly marrying begetting and divorcing As he goes. What he a doing in Toronto and How much of his bluster is True and How much is is take their own Sweet time to unravel a and again All the Loose ends Arentt tied up. Clarke lets the immigrant and the visible minority experiences suffuse the Book like the Brandy the pals Are sipping rather than hammering anyone Over the head with polemic. It would be a stretch to believe that Many people can deliver such eloquence a with or without Brandy on a Winters Day a but the origin of Waves will make one wish that we could Hunker Down with at least one Friend for such an evening. Briefly noted destination Mars by Martin Caidin Jay Barbree and Susan Wright Penguin 228 pages $42.50 just the word a Martian a evokes a scary image. But that image also involves fascination and Awe. We Are almost mesmerized by the red planet. This is the focus of a new Book about the planet destination Mars in Art myth and science by the late science fiction novelist Martin Caidin Jay Barbree of Abc and Susan Wright author of three Star trek novels among others. The Book traces earthlings fascination with Mars from Early history through today. They conclude a Only one thing is certain when it comes to Mars no matter How we reach our neighbouring planet we will always dream of a future and an Earth like Mars. We will always look for martians even if we have to become martians Knight Ridder newspapers Meg by Steve Alten Doubleday 278 pages $32 inside Steve Altenus first Book lies a screenplay. The author has a killer idea a what if a 60-foot-Long prehistoric shark hidden in the Depths of the Pacific a deepest Canyon finds its Way to the surface ? Meg proves that even prehistoric 60-foot Sharks need a Good writer or they sink. Knight Ridder newspapers on the night table Karen Hamm fringe festival actor and producer a i recently finished Timothy Findley a headhunter. I really enjoyed it. Its a kind of heart of darkness set in Toronto. My Favourite Findley books Are famous last words and his Memoir inside memory. That san amazing ;