Nation Maker—Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times by Richard Gwyn. (Random House, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Nation Maker

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

In 2007, Richard Gwyn published the first volume of his biography of Sir John A. Macdonald—John A. The Man Who Made Us. He was on this program in the fall of that year to discuss the book, as he is now to discuss the second volume, Nation Maker—Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times. It was published this past fall to great acclaim and many plaudits. The years covered in this book are 1867, the year of our Confederation, to 1891, the year of his death. The gift Mr. Gwyn has is he tells people stories well. He makes Macdonald’s life come alive on the page. The events of history are illustrated vividly and made understandable and accessible. The issues surrounding our founding, the scandals and controversies are parsed and analysed with the hindsight of time and the context of contemporary references. It is a wonderful read, and an absolutely important book. Richard Gwyn is an award winning author and political columnist. He wrote widely praised biographies of Pierre Trudeau and Joey Smallwood. And his book Nationalism Without Walls, one of my favourite books ever, was selected by the Literary Review of Canada as one of the 100 most important books about the country. www.richardjgwyn.ca is the website for more. Nation Maker is published by Random House. I’m very pleased to welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Richard Gwyn; Good morning, Mr. Gwyn.

100 Days That Changed Canada by Mark Reid. (HarperCollins Canada, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: 100 Days That Changed Canada

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Mark Reid joins me again. He is the editor-in-chief of the magazine, Canada’s History, formerly The Beaver. He’s the editor of a new book, another great book of Canadian history: 100 Days That Changed Canada. Selected therein are 100 dates that by virtue of the events of the day, the people involved, and more, truly shaped this country. There are obvious dates included like 01 July 1867, but there are dates in here like 02 September 1972, which is the first game of the Summit Series between Team Canada and the Soviets, and not the 28th of September the final game. The essay by Ken Dryden makes the case for the 2nd of September. That’s what Mr. Reid has done, gathered noted contributors to write about each date. Some of the contributors include Peter Mansbridge, Adrienne Clarkson, Bob Rae, J.L. Granatstein, Peter C. Newman, Rona Maynard, Conrad Black, and Margaret Wente. We’ll talk about how this book came about and about the dates that truly changed this country. Mark Reid was last on for the book, 100 Photos That Changed Canada. This book now is fine companion to that book, and is the beginning of a great conversation on history, our country, what’s in this book, and why, as well as what’s not in the book. 100 Days That Changed Canada is published by HarperCollins. www.canadashistory.ca is the website for more. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Mark Reid; Good morning, Mr. Reid.

Bob Lenarduzzi: A Canadian Soccer Story by Bob Lenarduzzi and Jim Taylor. (Harbour Publishing, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Bob Lenarduzzi: A Canadian Soccer Story

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Once again, Jim Taylor joins me. The legendary sports writer is out with a new book. He co-wrote Bob Lenarduzzi: A Canadian Soccer Story, with you guessed it, Bob Lenarduzzi. We get a great view on soccer, Canadian soccer, Mr. Lenarduzzi’s career on and off the field, and stories of the many colourful characters encountered along the way. Bob Lenarduzzi was a successful soccer player, winning a North American Soccer League Championship with the Whitecaps, he coached the Vancouver 86ers, and is now president of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the seventeenth club in Major League Soccer. Jim Taylor was around for a lot of those days. Lenarduzzi was 19 when they met. He covered him and wrote about his exploits in his noted columns in papers here and across the country. We’ll get Jim to tell us about this book, which is from Harbour Publishing, why we should read it, and what it was like looking back with Lenarduzzi. Jim Taylor has written thousands of columns, he’s done three times as many radio broadcasts and written over a dozen books. He’s in the CFL and BC Sports Halls of Fame, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Sports Media Canada. Last year he received the Bruce Hutchison Award from the Jack Webster Foundation. We could go on with the superlatives. He’s always a welcome guest on this program. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Jim Taylor; Good morning, Mr. Taylor.

Here’s Mike: And Junkyard Granny, Whistling Bernie Smith, the Robertson Screwdriver, Pancakes & Eternal Truth by Mike McCardell. (Harbour Publishing, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Here’s Mike

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

For the fifth year now, around this time of year, just before Christmas, I get to talk to the great Mike McCardell. It might be an overstatement to call him ‘great,’ but it’s not. He happens to have a book out around this time, but he’s always welcome on this program. He’s the marvellous storyteller seen at the end of Global’s News Hour. He’s out now with his seventh book, again a wonderful collection of stories we’ve seen on television, as well as anecdotes he’s collected over his many years of reporting, meeting the colourful, interesting, fascinating people throughout the city and its environs. The book is called Here’s Mike: And Junkyard Granny, Whistling Bernie Smith, the Robertson Screwdriver, Pancakes & Eternal Truth. It’s from Harbour Publishing, and if you buy the book before 29 February 2012, partial proceeds will go to Variety—The Children’s Charity. These books of Mike, all bestsellers, have raised over $75,000 for Variety. www.globaltvbc.com is the website for Mike’s pieces. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Mike McCardell; Good morning, Mr. McCardell.

Where There’s Smoke. . . Musings of A Cigarette Smoking Man by William B. Davis. (ECW Press, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Where There’s Smoke

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

The title of the book evokes my next guest’s most famous, iconic role in television, that of the Cigarette Smoking Man or Cancer Man on The X-Files. It’s the role he’s well known for, for better and worse. The book however is more than just a dishy memoir of his years on the science fiction series that was initially shot here in Vancouver. The book discusses the life of William B. Davis, from his upbringing in Ontario, to the development of Canadian theatre in the 1950s and 1960s, his time in the British theatre encountering people like Laurence Olivier and Albert Finney, to his time back in Canada working in Toronto and here in Vancouver, up to his role on The X-Files. It’s a compelling read, as he’s candid about himself, and he’s insightful about his craft, acting in the theatre and on television. He’s perhaps too honest when it comes to discussion of his personal life, his sex life especially, but one wonders what his lovers think. It’s a fascinating and most enjoyable read. The book is called Where There’s Smoke. . . Musings of A Cigarette Smoking Man. It’s published by ECW Press. The website for more is at www.williambdavis.com. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, William Davis; Good morning, Mr. Davis.

The Home Stretch by Rafe Mair. (2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Home Stretch

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Rafe Mair joins me again. The broadcaster and writer, former lawyer and cabinet minister has written a new book, The Home Stretch. It came out of the television series he’s done, The Search, which you can still see on Joy TV in these parts. The book is about religion, and it is one layman’s look at a number of religions as he looks for answers about life, death, the afterlife, the devil, God, heaven, and hell. The book is available at Amazon.com in a Kindle Edition. It’s only $9.99. It’s a cogent, thoughtful, and thought-provoking look at life, and the examination of these various religions is most interesting and informative. His website is at www.rafeonline.com; there’s also www.TheCanadian.org. When Damien Gillis, his colleague at the Common Sense Canadian was on recently, I noted that Mr. Mair has been the most frequent guest on this program. This is his 10th appearance. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Rafe Mair; Good morning, Mr. Mair.

At the World’s Edge: Curt Lang’s Vancouver, 1937-1998 by Claudia Cornwall. (Mother Tongue Publishing, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: At the World’s Edge

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Seeing that I have authors on this program frequently, and have a particular fondness for featuring books on local Vancouver and British Columbia figures, one invariably follows the trades like the indispensable BC Bookworld and Quill and Quire. I read about my next guest’s book now sometime ago. Claudia Cornwall has written a new book, At the World’s Edge: Curt Lang’s Vancouver, 1937-1998. I didn’t know who Curt Lang was, but the black and white shot of Vancouver in neon intrigued me. The Gary Busey-looking guy on the cover, with a cigarette in his hand was apparently Curt Lang. I’ve been reading Claudia’s book, and it’s just a fascinating read about Lang, who is a fascinating and remarkable figure on his own. He was a poet, an artist, as well as a photographer, he fished, he did work in software. The book captures a Vancouver from a bygone era, and it also shows how we’ve evolved to quote another book, from milltown to metropolis. We’ll ask Ms. Cornwall about Curt Lang, who he was, what he did, how she knew him, and more. The book is published by Mother Tongue Publishing. Claudia Cornwall is a freelance writer, who’s won many prizes including the Hubert Evans Non Fiction Prize in 1996 for her book Letter from Vienna: A Daughter Uncovers Her Family’s Jewish Past. Her own website is at www.claudiacornwall.com. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, in North Vancouver, Claudia Cornwall; Good morning, Ms. Cornwall.

When the Gods Changed: The Death of Liberal Canada by Peter C. Newman. (Random House, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: When the Gods Changed

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

One of the season’s major releases is the new book from the journalist and author Peter C. Newman. It is called When the Gods Changed: The Death of Liberal Canada. The book which has already inspired much discussion in the country’s political circles chronicles what Mr. Newman argues is the demise of the Liberal Party of Canada. He had set out to write a book documenting the ascent of Michael Ignatieff from academia abroad to the premiership, however that book’s focus shifted what with the party’s fortunes and the results of last May’s election. Still the book is very fine read, in that style that Canadians have come to expect in the over fifty year career of Peter C. Newman. The book is part a look at how the party came to be where it is today, part a narrative of Ignatieff’s life and career, plus this short foray into politics, as well we’re reminded of what the Liberal Party once was, what it accomplished in all those years that it dominated this country. The Grits were in power for seven of the last ten decades. Peter C. Newman is the legendary journalist who’s written over 30 books, 25 of which have sold over two and half million copies. He’s won every major prize, and he was the editor of the Toronto Star and Maclean’s. The book is published by Random House. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, in Vancouver this day, Peter Newman; Good morning, Mr. Newman.

Ed King by David Guterson. (Knopf, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Ed King

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

David Guterson joins me now. The bestselling author is in town as part of the Cherie Smith Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver Jewish Book Festival. He’s also just published his latest novel, Ed King. It’s described as a story of destiny, desire and destruction, reimagining Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex. We’ll get him to tell us more about this book. Mr. Guterson is the author of the novels East of the Mountains, The Other, Our Lady of the Forest, and Snow Falling on Cedars, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award. He’s also written a short story collection The Country Ahead of Us, the Country Behind, and Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense. He lives in Washington State, where Ed King is set. It’s published by Knopf. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, David Guterson; Good morning, Mr. Guterson.

Elusive Destiny: The Political Vocation of John Napier Turner by Paul Litt. (UBC Press, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Elusive Destiny

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

The political career of John Turner, Canada’s 17th prime minister is chronicled in a comprehensive new book, Elusive Destiny: The Political Vocation of John Napier Turner. He was prime minister in 1984 for 79 days, after Pierre Trudeau resigned, and he was defeated in the election of that year by Brian Mulroney. Before that he was an able minister in the cabinets of Lester Pearson, as well as in Trudeau’s as his justice minister, English lieutenant, and finance minister. He left politics for the private sector in 1975, to return when Trudeau resigns in 1984. He leads the Liberal Party of Canada in 1984, and in 1988, the Free Trade election, when he made one last try, which many have considered his finest hour, when he and Mulroney had a lively exchange on patriotism, continental pressure, and political independence. The author of the book, Paul Litt, joins me now. He is a historian and a professor in both the departments of History and the School of Canadian Studies at Carleton University. The book is published by UBC Press. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, in Ottawa this morning, Paul Litt; Good morning, Professor Litt.