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Cape Breton Highlands National Park
$16.95For both the hiker and the armchair traveller, this park lover’s companion to Cape Breton Highlands National Park is a beautifully-written natural history and guide to the northern jewel. Noted naturalist Clarence Barrett speaks to us directly.
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Celebrate!
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$16.95Celebrate: The History and Folklore of Holidays in Nova Scotia offers just the inspiration we need to keep is celebrating day after day, month after month. Although most of the holidays described in this book are relevant to Canadians in general, and most originated elsewhere, they have become overlaid with local customs and traditions that give them new forms and flavours. This entertaining and lively account of festivals, holidays and celebrations is a treasure-chest of lore that includes unusual facts, vignetter, and off-beat customs from the old-time celebrations and folk traditions of Nova Scotians. It is a link between our past and present sensibilities, proving once again out indebtedness to our forebears and our ingenuity for adaptation.
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Nova Scotia Moments
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95Clary Croft has gathered intriguing historical moments of Nova Scotian history into a readable and informative look at the province. These inspiring vignettes bring together many of the historical events, accomplishments, and unusual details that make up the more interesting aspects of Nova Scotia’s long history. Over four hundred profiles of inventors, radicals, and rogues make this collection the absolutely best volume of popular and fascinating facts and events covering over five hundred years in the region’s history. From Captain Kidd to Prohibition; from the origin of the Nova Scotian Tartan to the first automobile and the origins of our famous lobster suppers, Clary Croft writes with enthusiasm and genuine affection about his native province.
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Witchcraft
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Witchcraft. The subject evokes curiosity, fascination, and sometimes, abhorrence. In the Maritimes, a region with a rich tradition of storytelling, accounts of witchcraft are abundant.
In Witchcraft, folklorist Clary Croft explores the many examples of witchcraft identified in the Maritimes and explains their cultural origins—Scottish, Mi’kmaq, Acadian, German, among others. He finds example of spells, charms, and superstitions involving everything from animal horns and blood to salt and milk. Croft also traces witchcraft’s more official history from the Maritimes’ first witch trial in 1684—the trial of Jean Campagna—followed by others throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.
A thoroughly researched history of an often-misunderstood practice, Witchcraft is a rich source of Maritime folklore.
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My Grandfather’s Cape Breton (new edition)
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$20.95This is the timeless story of a young boy and his grandfather. It is a voyage of discovery that starts for both of them when young Clive arrives one summer at his grandfather’s farm in Cape Breton. Clive, with all the uncertainty of approaching adolescence, has only the vaguest impression of what a cow looks like and what is expected of him. Under the gentle guidance and wry wit of his Acadian grandfather he learns how to gallop a horse without falling off, how to save the hay crop from from an approaching storm, and how to assist with the birth of a calf. This is a story of Grand Étang, a humorous, sensuous vibrant place, and of a boy growing up wise one summer in Cape Breton.
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Grandfather’s House Returning to Cape Breton
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Grandfather’s House is Clive Doucet’s follow-up to My Grandfather’s Cape Breton, published in 1980 and continuously in print. Now a grandfather himself, Doucet muses about this role. While he believed as a child that to be a grandfather was to own a farm by the sea, he now realizes that his job as a grandfather is to tell stories. In doing so, he traces the history of the Doucets back to Acadie, then to the early years of the Cape Breton village of Grand Étang and to modern-day Ottawa.
Doucet’s musings are interspersed with poetry, short stories, and with summer adventures with his grandchildren in Grand Étang. He paints a loving portrait of his grandfather’s village and the people, past and present, who make it a vibrant community. The themes of resilience and rejuvenation permeate the memoir, which is both rooted in nostalgia and filled with hope for a more sustainable future.
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Historic Colchester
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95A remarkable collection of over 100 historic images that reflect the diverse array of the area’s activities and people taken from the immense collection of the Colchester Historical Museum.
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Inspired Halifax
Artist: Dusan KadlecPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Born in 1942 in what is now the Czech Republic, Dusan Kadlec received his Masters Degree in Fine Arts from the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in 1967. Shortly afterward, 1968, he immigrated to Canada and settled in Nova Scotia where he now works and makes his home. Internationally recognized for his highly detailed portrayals of important historical events, as well as painting our seafaring and urban past, Dusan Kadlec is generally regarded as Canada’s foremost historical and marine artist.
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Sable Island
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing Limited$27.95Sable Island, the “Wandering Sandbar,” has been the subject of enduring fascination, long known for its many shipwrecks and appreciated for its unique flora and fauna, particularly the beautiful and resilient wild horses that make the island their home. Sable Island also has the world’s single largest breeding colony of grey seals and is home to the Ipswich sparrow, which breeds only on the island. The ever-changing landscape of this island of sand, molded by the intense wind and rain of the Atlantic Ocean, produces natural formations stunning enough to rival some of the world’s most accomplished sculptors.
Sable Island includes over 100 stunning images by photographer Damian Lidgard, images that showcase this magnificent island in its rarely seen splendour. Damian is one of the few regular visitors to the island, and his photography is an expression of the island’s unique beauty.
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Know New Brunswick
Publisher: Maritime Lines$17.95Active in bookselling and publishing for many years, Dan Soucoup is the author of numerous books including Historic New Brunswick, McCully’s New Brunswick, and The New Brunswick Phrase Book.”Dan Soucoup’s articles are well documented, interesting, articulate, unbiased, and are really going back in the history of our province.” Edmond Bourgeois, Grand Digue, New Brunswick
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Railways Of New Brunswick
Publisher: Maritime Lines$19.95Dan Soucoup is the author of numerous books on New Brunswick and the Maritimes including Know New
Brunswick and The New Brunswick Phrase Book. He grew up in a railway family in New Brunswick. -
Logging in New Brunswick, Lumber, Mills & River Drives
Publisher: Maritime Lines$19.95Lumber was and is New Brunswick’s largest inustry and throughout the 19th century the province largely remained a timber colony dependent on its vast forests for most of its revenue. And for 150 years, New Brunswikcers entered the wilderness each fall, lived in primitive lumber camps while cutting, skidding, yarding, and hauling logs to the riverbanks and waited for spring break-up. This Is the story of a great industry, of lumberjacks, the teamsters, scalers, raftsmen, shantyboys, swampers, and rossers. From the wangan, tote road, twitching horse, sacking, due bills, and the corporation drive, the reader is taken inside the lumber world of yesterday. Over 140 historical photographs with extensive captions reveal forgotten logging practices, unique details of river drives, and how the early sawmills were built and organized.
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Short History of Fredericton
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Sitting along the scenic St. John River and tucked into the surrounding wilderness, Fredericton bristles with history as New Brunswick’s capital. With Maliseet, French, and British origins, this colonial garrison town quickly became the political centre for the area as it grew with the efforts of Loyalist settlers and others in the 1780s. In an engaging narrative style, author Dan Soucoup traces Fredericton’s development through the contributions of leading citizens and the significant events that saw commercial growth and the first Canadian literary movement.
Through the social and political tensions of the 1960s and 70s up to the present, A Short History of Fredericton records the entire history of the city in a highly accessible manner. This book is ideal for tourists seeking a concise historical overview of Fredericton, as well as for citizens wanting to know how their city came to be. Includes 30 black and white photos.
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New Brunswick Phrase Book
Publisher: Maritime Lines$13.95New Brunswick has its fair share of distinctive dialects and colourful language. These New Brunswickisms are perplexing, hilarious and downright fascinating. This handy book has captured the essence of the province, the words and phrases that are so often heard by not always understood or explained. Included are over 1,000 sayings, phrases, descriptions and curious names that are listed in alphabetical order and defined in plain English.
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Elizabeth Lefort Canada’s Artist in Wool
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$24.95The Cheticamp rug hooking tradition is prized the world over. The most celebrated fibre artist from this tradition is undoubtedly Elizabeth LeFort (1914-2005). LeFort’s remarkable talent for portraiture in wool resulted in purchases and commissions the world over; her work hangs in Rideau Hall, Buckingham Palace, the White House and the Vatican.
Daniel Doucet followed her life and her career for many years, with this biography in mind. Photographs of many of her pieces are complemented by photos of many of the public highlights of her career.
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On South Mountain
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$27.95Stories of South Mountain and its notorious Goler Clan are often told in whispers–or not at all.
For over a century, a gruesome pattern of sexual and physical abuse, incest, and psychological torture defined the isolated mountain community, and residents of the nearby Annapolis Valley turned a blind eye. But when a fourteen-year-old South Mountain girl finally spoke up, the story and its ensuing investigation captivated the country.
In this twentieth-anniversary edition of the bestselling book The Vancouver Sun called “a terrible story, beautifully told,” acclaimed authors David Cruise and Alison Griffiths return to South Mountain with a new Preface and the original, startling text.
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Tall Tales & Curious Happenings
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95A wonderfully entertaining collection of the best tales of the strange and weird occurrences that have been happening in New Brunswick for years.
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It Happened in New Brunswick
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95It Happened in New Brunswick features more than fifty stories about New Brunswick heroes and oddballs, funny happenings and tragic moments, by the province’s favourite storyteller, David Goss.
The stories span New Brunswick’s history and geography, bringing to light unknown characters and events, from the record-breaking bowlers of Saint John to the McAdam pharmacist who invented his own miracle flu medicine, and from Alex Haley’s surprise sojourn in Dalhousie to Campobello Island’s remarkable hermit. The book is divided into six thematic sections, including one of Acadian stories told in English, plus a section of amusing clippings and tidbits collected from old New Brunswick newspapers and archives. -
Saint John Curiosities
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Saint John Curiosities is a collection of short and interesting glimpses of the city’s people, places, and events from its very beginning to the present day. Author and well-known storyteller David Goss brings together little-known, fascinating findings that he has uncovered during forty years of research, drawing stories from newspaper articles, maps, and museum and library archives.
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Only in New Brunswick
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95IN HIS LATEST VOLUME of offbeat New Brunswick history and lore, popular Saint John storyteller David Goss delivers over forty-five new stories gleaned from his years as a columnist and tour guide. Goss introduces readers to local personalities like Perth Andover, artist Violet Gillett, chainsaw carver Albert Deveau, and the key-collector of Neguac. Other New Brunswickers have shared their memories of some of the province’s oddities, including Deer Island’s town clock, a quest to save the largest tree in the province, and the story of the Bricklin SV-1, manufactured for a brief time in Minto and Saint John. In these pages you’ll also find some of the ghost stories and legends that Goss has recounted to visitors in the parks where he’s worked as a a guide. The ghost ship Squando, the Hampton werewolf scare, and the Norton noise have made the rounds of many campfires and are captured here in print.
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Saint John Facts and Folklore
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95Saint John Facts and Folklore is filled with anecdotes about the city’s history, unbelievable incidents, and local sayings that showcase the unique identity of Saint John. With a focus on the city’s long history and spirited citizens, David Goss leads readers through the rowdy port city and centre of the nineteenth century lumber trade. The book is scattered with facts and stats that surprise and teach. The latest addition to the Facts and Folklore series, this entertaining and informative book is perfect for those wanting an alternative guide to Saint John and its sights. Includes 20 black and white photos of Saint John past and present.
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Nature & Hiking Guide To Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$18.95Complete with easy-to-use maps, plant lists, glossary, and index, and illustrated with line drawings and woodcuts, A Nature and Hiking Guide to Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail is your complete guide to this natural treasure trove.
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A Guide to Whale Watching in the Maritimes
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$9.95In this easy-to-use guide, you will find interesting facts about a total of sixteen whale, dolphin, and porpoise species that frequent the waters from Brier Island to northern Cape Breton, the Golf of St. Lawrence, the Atlantic Coast, and the Bay of Fundy.
With illustrations for each species and their field marks, and quick reference fact boxes, this useful guide will assist identification of the cetaceans in our waters, providing information about behaviour, diet, habitat, and physical features. Complete with a glossary and a select listing of Maritime whale-watching tours, you’ll want this guide in your pocket when you set out to watch these magnificent mammels. -
The Legend of Gladee’s Canteen Down Home on a Nova Scotia Beach
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$19.95“Everyone remembers the famous food at Gladee’s Canteen, especially Gladee’s fish and chips and her coconut cream pie.” — Calvin Trillin
Gladee’s Canteen, several times voted as one of the ten best restaurants in Canada, was a special example of co-operative and communal spirit. At the centre of the operation were Gladee and her sister Flossie, supported by the extended Hirtle family. They offered a warm welcome and a memorable menu, in a setting brashly open to the forces of nature.
The Legend of Gladee’s Canteen tells the story of a popular Nova Scotia beach and a pioneer family who, against the odds, constructed a simple canteen at Hirtle’s Beach in1951 and ran it for forty years. The book draws on the author’s family associations, personal memory, and the outlying stockpile of collective recollections — a tapestry of events woven through the evolutionary fabric of a small, relatively isolated Maritime coastal community.
The era of Gladee’s Canteen is remarkable story that takes place in a small coastal Nova Scotia community blessed with a spectacularly dynamic living beach. In its time, the Hirtle family and its sparkling enterprise thrived in spite of relative isolation, uncertain funding, and domestic demons. As a Nova Scotia epic, the success story of Gladee’s Canteen mirrors the recent history of Hirtle’s Beach, exemplifying the twists and turns locked up in legend.
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Archie, le rat de mine-un heros
Artist: Louise Brooking-McDowPublisher: Breton Books$14.95C’est l’histoire de l’amitié qui existe entre u mineur, Milton, et un rat de mine, Archie –et de la façon dont Archie est devenu un héros.
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Archie the Pit Rat Hero
Artist: Louise Brooking-McDowPublisher: Breton Books$16.00This is the story of the friendship between a Miner named Milton and a Pit Rat named Archie—and how Archie became a hero.
Based on the stories miners tell about rats in the coal mines, Dave Muise, a miner’s son, tells the story of Archie the Pit Rat.
Louise Brooking-McDow’s paintings bring Archie’s underground world to life.
An Enchanting book for early readers, and those lucky enough to read with them.
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Nova Scotia Place Names
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Washabuck is not a place to launder money; Ecum Secum is not a children’s game; Joggins has nothing to do with anything athletic.
They are just some of the 1,421 Nova Scotia place names whose origins, where they are known, are explained in this book. The history of each name is succinctly chronicled with an emphasis on events past and current that are historically significant, offbeat, or humorous. This quirky and informative guide also contains a treasure trove of the province’s little-known facts and occurrences and 95 mini-biographies of famous, infamous, and not-so-famous-but-still-very-interesting Nova Scotians, folks who achieved something outstandingly positive, or negative, during their lifetimes.
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A Long Way From the Road
Publisher: Acorn Press$13.95A collection of 77 anecdotes, this book is humorous and sardonic, insightful and witty, with the warmth and charm for which Atlantic Canada has become famous. Subjects that come under the microscope include politics, religion, sex, human foibles, and insularity that can come from living on a small island.
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An Island Christmas Reader (Updated edition)
Artist: Dale McNevinPublisher: Acorn Press$17.95An Island Christmas Reader is a book about Christmas past and present on Prince Edward Island. In 22 stories and essays, David Weale combines reminiscences of Islanders with his own musings to rekindle the memory of Christmas, where imagination and magic work hand in hand to create the “unsullied wonder of childhood vision.”
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Echoes from Labor’s Wars
Publisher: Breton Books$9.95Rooted in Cape Breton’s industrial wars these are songs of rebellion, indignation, hatred of oppression, full of humour, courage and love of honest work are a powerful compelling testament to courage, peace and community. A collection of Dawn Fraser’s poetry and writing. Includes his war poetry and biography.
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History of Hangings in Nova Scotia
$17.95Almost as soon as Halifax was settled by the British in 1749, it became a violent place to live, and in attempts to deal with this, public hangings and floggings were a common occurrence for close to a hundred years. Subject to the British legal system, criminals in Halifax were hanged for crimes that ranged from petty theft to gruesome murders.
From the original gallows tree at the bottom of George Street to hangings in rural communities, citizens were always drawn to a hanging. This book explores many of the Nova Scotian crimes that ended with the noose. Some of those included are the Saladin pirates, one of the bloodiest cases ever brought before a court in Nova Scotia; the hanging of Peter Mailman, who murdered his wife but captivated a reporter; and the trial of William Robinson, who not only murdered his wife but desecrated her body and tried to burn the evidence.
Hangings may have been grisly events, but they drew large crowds, and are a testament to the prevalent interest in the dark side of history. Issues of deterrence, public opinion, and effectiveness down through the years are explored by the author as she traces the crimes and punishment for murders that prevailed from the very first hanging in the province in 1749 to the last hanging in 1937.
