The Man Within My Head by Pico Iyer. (Knopf, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Man Within My Head

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

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

The writer Pico Iyer joins me now. He has just published The Man Within My Head, a deeply personal book about his lifelong fascination with the writer Graham Greene. As the title suggests Greene figures prominently in the head of the British-born, California-raised, son of two Indian scholars; he’s a sort of father to Iyer. He never met Greene, but through Greene’s writing Iyer’s own life is revealed. It’s a fascinating, wonderful book. We’ll get Mr. Iyer to tell us about the book, Greene, and his own life illuminated through Greene’s work. Pico Iyer is a writer noted for his travel writing, and his books on the Dalai Lama, Japan, Cuba, and globalism. He regularly appears in the New York Review of Books, the Financial Times, Time and the New York Times. The website for more is at www.picoiyerjourneys.com. The book is published by Knopf. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, here in Vancouver this day, Pico Iyer; Good morning, Mr. Iyer.

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.

Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis. (Knopf, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Into the Silence

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

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

Wade Davis joins me now. He has written an astonishingly absorbing book, Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest. It is a remarkable book about the generation of explorers who set out to conquer Mount Everest just after the First World War. For many, the British especially, getting to the top of Everest had been an obsession going back to the latter part of the 19th century. George Mallory, the most conspicuous of the adventurers is the one most recalled as his death on the mountain in 1924 on his third expedition, has been the source of legend and speculation even after his body was recovered in 1999. In this gripping book, Wade Davis not only explores Mallory’s life and times, but also the others on the expedition who were almost all veterans of the War. They’d seen the horrors of the conflict, yet they undertook this adventure to forget that which they had seen, and also as a sort of grand imperial gesture for the fading empire. These were people shaped by a World War, in a world that was soon to be reshaped by another. Wade Davis is the bestselling author of more than 12 books including The Wayfinders, One River, and The Serpent and the Rainbow. He is an anthropologist, and is National Geographic’s Explorer-in-Residence. He divides his time between northern British Columbia and Washington, D.C., and joins me from Toronto this day. The book is published by Knopf. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Wade Davis; Good morning, Mr. Davis.

This Crazy Time: Living Our Environmental Challenge by Tzeporah Berman. (Knopf, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: This Crazy Time: Living Our Environmental Challenge

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

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

She has been described as a modern environmental hero, she’s also been dubbed controversial. She is however an effective campaigner. Tzeporah Berman joins me now to discuss her new book, where she talks about her life and her work, This Crazy Time: Living Our Environmental Challenge. She’s written the book with Mark Leiren-Young. Tzeporah Berman is Greenpeace International Climate and Energy Co-Director, and is the founder of ForestEthics and PowerUp Canada. Her website is at www.tzeporahberman.com. The book is published by Knopf. She’s in Toronto this day, promoting this book, but makes her home again here in Vancouver. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Tzeporah Berman; Good morning, Ms. Berman.

On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver’s Missing Women by Stevie Cameron. (Knopf, 2010) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: On the Farm

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line. In Vancouver, this is THECOMMENTARY.CA.

Stevie Cameron joins me now. The investigative journalist and bestselling author has just published a big book On the Far: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver’s Missing Women. She was last on for her previous book on this case, The Pickton File. We talked three years ago about this book, as the last book was more of a memoir of her covering the case rather than the details of Pickton, his life, the women who went missing, the murders and the trial. This book, On the Farm, covers all of that, as it’s the first comprehensive book on the case. As a matter of fact, one of the trial’s prosecutors said, this book is ‘the bible on the case.’ Stevie Cameron was a political correspondent for the Ottawa Citizen and the Globe and Mail, she was a host of the fifth estate, as well as the editor-in-chief of Elm Street magazine. Her previous books include On the Take, The Last Amigo, and Ottawa Inside Out. Her website is at www.steviecameron.com. On the Farm is published by Knopf. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Stevie Cameron; Good morning, Ms. Cameron.

Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World by Doug Saunders. (Knopf, 2010) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Arrival City

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

In Vancouver, I am Planta: On the Line. This is THECOMMENTARY.CA.

One of the most important books of the year is Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World. It is written by the Globe and Mail columnist and its European bureau chief Doug Saunders, who joins me from Toronto this day. This book looks at how millions monthly flee the rural areas for the urban settings. The move creates ‘arrival cities,’ where a new way of life is established, economically and socially. They build communities, save and invest, and eventually, they move out, and a new set of migrants comes in. Going to a number of cities around the world, Mr. Saunders sees what ‘arrival cities’ work and which do not. In Toronto, he takes us to Thorncliffe Park; he travels to Nairobi, Mumbai, Warsaw, and more. It’s a necessary book, and one that lends a light on where we’re headed, and what this world will look like in very short time. His website is at www.dougsaunders.net. The book is published by Knopf. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Doug Saunders; Good morning, Mr. Saunders.

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant. (Knopf, 2010) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Tiger

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

In Vancouver, I am Planta: On the Line. This is THECOMMENTARY.CA.

John Vaillant is the author of the much anticipated, and already much lauded The Tiger. It’s a suspenseful book about an almost unbelievable, true story. It’s 1997, and in Russia’s Far East, a man-eating Siberian (Amur) tiger is on the prowl, and it’s not just killing people, but viciously so. The attacks, it seems aren’t random, and a team must stop it from attacking again. At the same time, Vaillant tells this thriller of a story, he also illustrates the conservation efforts in place which after Perestroika suffer, because of poaching and the commoditisation of tiger parts in Asia and elsewhere. The book’s film rights have been sold to Plan B Entertainment, which is Brad Pitt’s company, and Darren Aronofsky is slated to direct, with a screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga, who wrote the screenplay of Babel. John Vaillant’s previous book, his first, The Golden Spruce, was a critical hit and prizewinner. He’s written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Men’s Journal. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival is published by Knopf. He lives in Vancouver, where he joined me from last week. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, John Vaillant; Good morning, Mr. Vaillant.

Borderlands: Riding the Edge of America by Derek Lundy. (Knopf, 2010) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Borderlands

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line. This is THECOMMENTARY.CA.

Derek Lundy joins me now. He is the bestselling author of Godforsaken Sea, The Way of the Ship, and The Bloody Red Hand. He’s got a new book out now, Borderlands: Riding the Edge of America. I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s a book that looks at how Americans, as well as Canadians and Mexicans view the borders that we share. It’s also a wonderful adventure, as Mr. Lundy rides the borders on his motorcycle. 15,000 kilometres he rides, and he explores issues of politics, security, culture, immigration, and history, among other things. As well, as three of his close friends die, he looks at life, his own mortality, as he traverses the American-Canadian, and American-Mexican borders. Borderlands is published by Knopf. The website for more is www.dereklundy.com. He lives and rides on Salt Spring Island, but joins me from Vancouver today. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Derek Lundy; Good morning, Mr. Lundy.