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Historic Annapolis Valley
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95The allure of the Valley is its diversity- seacoast and agricultural land; ocean basins and fresh water lakes; tidal rivers and mountain streams; marshlands and meadows, fishing ports and farming hamlets, urban towns and country villages. Historically, the Valley’s heritage is as rich as its soil, with roots reaching back four hundred years. Historic Annapolis Valley is first and foremost about a region, not individual communities, although many are included as part of the overall story. The book covers the Annapolis Valley from Digby to Windsor, with an emphasis on the mid-valley, from Bridgetown to Berwick, beginning with the French in the 1600s and discussing topics relevant to the present day.
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Historic Windsor
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Windsor has undergone a dramatic change in appearance over the years due to complete changes of inhabitants, from Mi’kmaq to Acadians to British. A fire destroyed the town in 1897, which led to the construction of a new set of buildings and, as a result, all new streetscapes. The images collected here will be a revelation to many Windsorians, who will not recognize the town that they have known. Many of the inhabitants who have been important to the town will not be familiar either. Historic Windsor promises to offer a portrait of the town through images that will waken the memory, but teach as well.
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Historic Mahone Bay
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Mahone Bay has played an important role in Nova Scotia’s history, contributing significantly to the forestry, fishing and shipbuilding industries, and in recent years emerging as an important tourism destination.
With an emphasis on people and anecdotal history and more than 150 photographs and other images, Historic Mahone Bay covers the period from 1754 through 1960, with the focus on the period from the 1880s to the 1930s. -
Historic North Sydney
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95North Sydney has an exciting history. Once the fourth-busiest seaport in North America, the little town was also known as “Canada’s Gateway to the (European) World” when an underwater telegraph cable between North America and Europe was successfully laid, with the end of the cable in North Sydney. Because of its transport and communications advantages, the town played a vital role through both world wars.
Historic North Sydney is divided into chapters by topic. Rainnie Gillis uses historical images and extensive research to explain transportation, business, the Newfoundland Ferry Service, and public service in North Sydney, among other subjects.
Historic North Sydney is a much-anticipated addition to the Images of Our Past Series. -
Historic Sydney
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Dominion Steel and Coal Company. The Dominion Steel and Coal Company steel plant built at Whitney Pier brought in many of the people who make up the region’s rich cultural diversity Today, Sydney is Nova Scotia’s third largest city and is a major industrial centre. Cape Breton native Rannie Gillis has selected from a wide range of historical photographs to provide glimpses of the city’s rich heritage. Industrial scenes, streetscapes, urban life, the historic waterfront, and domestic work all combine to offer a fascinating portrait of historic Sydney.
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Historic Kentville
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95The largest community in the Annapolis Valley is also one of the most historic. At the end of the 18th century, Kentville became Shire Town of Kings County and, being at the junction of seven roads, grew into an important commercial centre, serving agricultural villages throughout the Annapolis Valley. The community began to thrive when the Windsor to Annapolis railway (later known as DAR) established its headquarters in 1868 and began shipping Annapolis Valley apples overseas. As the shire town of Kings County, the modern town of Kentville grew into a bustling railroad centre. The town has also been host to the traditional industries such as coal, timber, dairies, food processors and fruit retailers. Manufacturing industries began to bloom after the surge of the industrial revolution of the late 19th century. Kentville also became known for the production of the first automobile in Nova Scotia.
Kentville native Louis Comeau has selected from his own personal collection of hometown images to show Kentville from the early years of the birth of photography to World War II. Comeau annotates this fascinating collection of Valley photographs with absorbing and entertaining details that explain people and places and provide a charming historic portrait of an important Valley town. -
Historic Annapolis Royal
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Annapolis Royal, one of Nova Scotia’s most historic towns, is the oldest permanent European settlement in North America north of Florida. This visually evocative and informative book traces the history of Annapolis Royal through its architecture, streetscapes and industries, its public, military, and domestic life. Fort Anne, Canada’s first historic park, adds to the towns visual charm, as does the fact that many of the town’s historic buildings are still standing. Also treated in images and text are the surrounding villages of Granville, Lequille and Bear River, and of course, the replica of ht e1605 Habitation of de Monts and Champlain.
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Historic Sackville
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95In 1749 Sackville was founded and it has since been Halifax’s gateway to the interior of Nova Scotia. The community has been a growth centre since. These vintage photos bring that story of development to life.
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The Little Dutch Village
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95The historic and quaint village built by early German settlers on the outskirts of Halifax was mis-named Dutch for Deutsche, is a district rich in historic association. This is a fascinating account of the village through vintage photos.
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Historic Queens County
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95The region around Liverpool and Queens County itself is one of the most historic areas of Nova Scotia. Its wide harbours, fisheries, abundant timber and waterways attracted the attention of the early European fishermen and fur traders as well as the American settlers from New England who, in 1759 settled Liverpool. By 1766, the enterprising residents had constructed three water-powered sawmills and established trade links back to New England, as well as to Halifax, the West Indies and Europe. A few infamous Privateers fitted out in Liverpool were the Wolverine, Shannon, and the most successful of all, and best known, the Liverpool Packet. The author compiled this collection from a large number of old photographs from the 1880s until World War Two and provides a vivid portrait of Queens County’s past. An unrivalled visual history of Liverpool.
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Historic Amherst
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95It is hard to ignore the past in a town like Amherst in northern Nova Scotia. The setting fir the Leon Trotsky’s internment in one of Canada’s largest World War One prisoner-of-war camps and for Henry George Ketchum’s unusual plans to build a ship railway, Amherst has witnessed the rise-and sometimes fall- of personal fortunes and revolutionary dreams. Once the battleground for the historic struggle between the English and the French, it has been called home by notable figures of all kinds, including four fathers of Confederation and renowned artist Alex Colville.
Historic Amherst looks at the fascinating evolution of the small community of “Morse’s Corner” into “Busy Amherst,” an Industrial centre for the production of steel, iron and automobiles at its peak in the early 1900s. Supported by priceless photographs that testify to Amherst’s early prosperity as well as to its social, sporting, recreational and agrarian past, this illustrated history promises to inform and delight as it traces the significant moment in this once-bustling bordertown.
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Historic Shelburne
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Sarah Acker holds a bachelor of arts degree with concentrations in English and history from St. Francis Xavier University. A native of Shelburne, she has long had an interested in the communities history, and is currently working as a researcher with the Shelburne County Museum.
Lewis Jackson holds a bachelor of arts degree with honours in history from the University of Western Ontario, a bachelor of education degree from Queens University, and has undertaken graduate studies in history at Carleton University. A former Ottawa-based historical consultant and researcher, he teaches and writes in his hometown of Shelburne. -
Historic Bathurst
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Historic Bathurst offers an intimate look at life as it once was in this northern New Brunswick town. Summoning up its early days with an abundance of archival images, this book presents Bathurst’s past as home of salmon runs, a bountiful lumbering business, and as an important trading post along the remote Bay of Chaleur and documents the changes brought by the early twentieth century. Authur A.J. McCarthy has depicted, in images and words, the history of Bathurst’s people, the great rivers of the region, its streetscapes, bridges, and buildings, as well as its industries such as mining, the pulp mills, and the railway.With over one hundred images, this book is a one-of-a-kind keepsake, bringing back the people, history, and spirit of Bathurst.
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Rise Again
Publisher: Breton Books$21.95The first full-scale history of Cape Breton Island in nearly 150 years!
RISE AGAIN! Is the story of Cape Breton Island told by beloved historian, archivist, and teacher Robert Morgan. From the geological roots to Mi’kmaw life before discovery, the planting of French Louisbourg, and the island’s first economic boom, this is a rich and accessible new book.
Morgan takes us from the battle for control of the island and Britain’s deliberate schemes to withhold opportunities for significant growth, through the opening of Cape Breton to provide a new home for the Loyalists, the forced marriage of the Colony of Cape Breton to the Colony of Nova Scotia and with it the birth of the never-ending Separatist movement. Book One takes the reader through the 19th century and sees Cape Breton as a new home for the Acadians, the Irish, and the Scottish, preparing the ground for the second economic boom as world markets were found for Cape Breton’s coal and then steel. A marvellous book, built to last. -
Views from the Steel Plant
Editor: Ron CaplanPublisher: Breton Books$21.95Jimmy Hines is just one of the many voices that tell stories of Cape Breton’s 100-year adventure in Steel. Told with passion and conviction, Views from the Steel Plant is a proud, vigorous collection of memories of steel plant life. Along with historic photographs, here are stories of racism, bigotry and brotherhood-women who did the dirtiest work, keeping the plant alive while the men were at war-the fight for union and the community protest to save the embattled plant. Steelworkers talk about the skill and courage, about hard work in a hot, threatening and very productive twentieth century industry.
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The Electric City
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95This is the true story of the Stehelins, a prestigious family from Normandy, France, who came to Nova Scotia in the early twentieth century to carve out a new life in the wilderness. The family’s achievements were legendary–they built their own railway and installed their own electricity to the incredulity of all those around. Their amazing tale of creating an “electric city” in the wilds of Nova Scotia is the stuff of romance, challenge, and intrigue.
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Relative Happiness (movie edition)
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Lexie Ivy loves her little house in Cape Breton, her big family, and the endless sea that surrounds her. She wouldn’t trade her life for anything, but at thirty she’s starting to feel like something’s missing.
Enter Adrian, a charming backpacker who takes a wrong turn at the U.S. border and ends up on Lexie’s doorstep, and Joss, an irresistible man who disappears just as quickly as he arrives. Lexie’s peaceful life has suddenly become more complicated than she ever imagined.
Lesley Crewe’s funny, whip-smart debut novel brims with Cape Breton-style humour. Filled with heartache without succumbing to it, Relative Happiness is the story of life and love in a small town, of four sisters who love, betray, and rescue each other in turn, and of Lexie Ivy’s joyful awakening. Released as a feature film in 2015.
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The Mi’kmaq Anthology Volume 2 In Celebration of the Life of Rita Joe
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$21.95Theresa Meuse is the former chief of Bear River First Nation and has worked in various jobs with Mi’kmaq organizations. She is an educator and advisor and author of a children’s book, The Sharing Circle. Lesley Choyce is the publisher of Pottersfield Press, an English instructor in Dalhousie University’s Transition Year Program and the author of several books.
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The Mi’kmaq Anthology
Editor: Rita JoePublisher: Pottersfield Press$21.95A varied and spiritual collection of work by the Mi’kmaq writers of Atlantic Canada. Both young and old stories and storytellers combine talents to produce short stories, poetry, and personal essays.
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Mi’kmaq Hieroglyphic Prayers
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Mi’kmaq Hieroglyphic Prayers is a collection of sacred readings (prayers, narratives, and liturgies) represented by hieroglyphs developed from pictographic symbols used by the Mi’kmaq Indians of Atlantic Canada before European contact, and later expanded by French missionaries. This volume contains some of the most important texts in native religious life, such as “The Passion of our Lord” and “The Sacraments,” as well as common prayers for everyday recitation. Transliterations in Mi’kmaq and translations in English accompany the hieroglyphic text.
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Song of Rita Joe Autobiography of a Mi’kmaw Poet
Publisher: Breton Books$21.95Song of Rita Joe is a book of exceptional courage and insight, the words of a gentle woman who fought for her family, justice, and her own independent voice. She faced intolerance, ignorance, and abuse, searched her inheritance for strength, and wrote poems of clarity and encouragement that continue to inspire not only her people but all people.
Finally, she was a humble woman, an honoured Mi’Kmaw elder, poet, and member of the Order of Canada.
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Ships and Men
Publisher: Breton Books$21.95A new collection of some of the best writing from Capt. John Parker, including the life and death of his deep-sea commercial vessel (St. Clair Theriault) and his classic history of wooden shipbuilding throughout Cape Breton Island.
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Much Madness, Divinest Sense Women’s Stories of Mental Health and Health Care
Editor: Lori Hanson, Nili Kaplan - MyrthPublisher: Pottersfield Press$21.95It is time to shed some light on the dark halls and windowless rooms where women’s mental health has been hidden from view. Where are the stories? Where are their voices? In historical and psychiatric records, women’s mental health is reduced to verifiable symptoms and causes, devoid of the subjective, absent of the lived experience. When confronted with their protestations and self-representations, our medical system and our societal institutions further pathologize, retrauamtize or silence women. Much Madness, Divinest Sense is a collection of women’s stories and essays about mental health and health care. These women–physicians, psychotherapists, social workers, community activists, health researchers, Indigenous women, transgender women, our neighbors, daughters, sisters, mothers and grandmothers who are the recipients, providers and critics of care–break the silence to talk about the polluted, heart-wrenching, stigmatized, messy subject that is mental illness today. As with their first collection, Women Who Care: Women’s stories of health care and caring, the stories, essays and poems of women receiving, accompanying, critiquing or giving mental health care are again in this compilation as raw as they are real.
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Baby Steps (3 Book Set)
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95“Baby Steps” is a series of three board books: Baby Play, Baby Look, and Baby Talk. These are perfect “starter books” for baby’s first year and are offered here in one package. Based on developmental research, the books encourage playful interaction between parent and child. The series features bright, bold images that will grab baby’s attention, bouncy text that parents will love to read aloud, and great information on how parents can connect with their baby.
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Wild Nova Scotia (pb)
Photographer: Len WaggPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Nova Scotia has designated thirty-three Crown-owned areas as Wilderness Areas, consisting of about five percent of the provincial land-mass. The wilderness area designation means no mining or logging is allowed, but people are free to hunt, fish, hike, and camp as they have for generations. These Wilderness Areas- from the massive Tobeatic Wilderness Area that covers five counties to tiny McGill Lake- showcase the best of natural Nova Scotia, and Len Wagg has photographed them all for Wild Nova Scotia. Over the last year and a half, Wagg spent close to a hundred days in the province’s wilderness, logging over fifteen thousand kilometres and taking beautiful, telling portraits of the province’s most secret and lovely places. Photos of important areas not designated Wilderness Areas are included as well- like the shores of the Northumberland Strait, where herds of seals find places along the shores to have their young; the Bay of Fundy, where world-class tides erode massive cliffs; Keji National Park, where the sounds campers hear are all natural; and Nova Scotia’s “barren” Sable Island, home to birds, plants, seals and a herd of wild horses. Each area has distinctive characteristics that make it unique. Wild Nova Scotia showcases the special places, protected or not, allowing people to bring home some of the amazing natural beauty of this province.
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Somebody’s Daughter
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95First released in 1996, Somebody’s Daughter takes us inside the lives of real players in Canada’s prostitution game. This book is about what we don’t know about prostitution and perhaps what we don’t want to know; what goes on inside that violent underworld know as The Game, and who the girls in the tight skirts really are. Author and reporter Phonse Jessome traces the short careers of several young girls actively recruited by pimps and describes the anti-pimping efforts of law enforcers who work to get teenage girls out the The Games and off the streets.
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Acadian Lives
Editor: Ron CaplanPublisher: Breton Books$21.95The Cape Breton Acadian comes alive in this new collection of conversations with remarkable people in an extraordinary place-Acadians of Cape Breton Island. In their own words, this book is a marvelous introduction to their humour, passion, work life and heritage. From fishing life to the cooperative movement, from daily life to sorcery and celebrations-their words and photographs open a door to an intimate portrait of this unique, little-known world. Acadian Lives is a tribute to the tenacity, pride, ingenuity and wit of one of Cape Breton Island’s undeniable treasures. In English, with some French tales and songs.
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Riptides New Island Fiction
Publisher: Acorn Press$21.95A call was sent out asking writers to submit unpublished short stories for a fiction anthology featuring newer writers with a significant P.E.I. connection. There were no boundaries for setting or genre, only a limit of 5,000 words. PEI is strong on tradition, which includes out-migration and immigration. Thus, its culture and demographics are changing, and these PEI writers both are Island-born and hail from away – Australia and Calgary, Newfoundland and Ukraine. The result is twenty-three stories, which take the reader from a ritual gathering of PEI widows to Chernobyl in the nuclear disaster’s aftermath, from a menacing marital game of hide-and-seek through the Maritime landscape to gender clashes on an outback sheep ranch, from a religious commune in Alberta to the Enlightenment Tour bus into Quebec. Whether the characters are struggling for dear life in breaking surf, gasping for emotional air at a ladies’ candle party or fearing the Tall Tailor’s scissors, the authors demonstrate a rich variety of fictional talent and imagination emerging from what Island poet Milton Acorn called the “red tongue…In the ranged jaws of the Gulf,” and revising our perception of “the land of Anne.”