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Pantry and Palate Remembering and Rediscovering Acadian Food
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$34.95In Pantry and Palate, journalist Simon Thibault explores his Acadian roots by scouring old family recipes, ladies’ auxiliary cookbooks, and folk wisdom for 50 of the best-loved recipes of Acadians past and present. Recipes run the gamut from Acadian staples such as potato pancakes called Fring Frangs, Rappie Pie, Chicken Fricot, and various forms of meat pies; old-fashioned foodways, such as how to render your own lard, and make the most of out a pig’s head; and sumptuous sweets take the form of Rhubarb Custard Pie or a simple Molasses Cake. Thibault not only discovers the past lives of his immediate and extended family, but their larders as well.
Including essays celebrating the stories behind the recipes, a foreword by bestselling author Naomi Duguid (Taste of Persia), and photos by noted food photographer Noah Fecks (The Up South Cookbook), Pantry and Palate is magnifique from page to plate.
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Mister Nightingale
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95When self-described mid-list Newfoundland author James Nightingale makes a brief sojourn to his St. John’s home for the re-release of his seminal novel, he’s forced to confront his failings, both familial and artistic. Imbued with the language of literature and the imagery of a Newfoundland in flux, Mister Nightingale is at once a fitful meditation on the writing life, and a keen and poignant exploration of one man’s coming to terms with la vie quotidienne.
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Better Off Dead Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Canadian Armed Forces
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Fred Doucette always wanted to be a soldier. In the 1960s he joined the Canadian Armed Forces and served in Cyprus in the 1970s and ’80s and Bosnia in the 1990s. When he returned home to New Brunswick in 1999 after his last overseas tour, he was diagnosed with severe chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. Eventually released from the army, Fred found a position with the Operational Stress Injury Social Support (OSISS) program, where he supported serving soldiers and veterans for ten years.
Better Off Dead chronicles Fred’s efforts in helping to rehabilitate and support soldiers and veterans suffering from what the military terms “operational stress injuries.” We meet Ted, saved from a suicide attempt by a timely phone call; Bob, at wit’s end and reluctantly seeking help to overcome severe PTSD; Roger, caught in a cycle of violence and drug and alcohol abuse; and Jane, diagnosed with PTSD after having been sexually assaulted while on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. These accounts are raw, desperate, and often angry, but as Doucette shows, there is hope and real progress for those able to obtain proper diagnosis and treatment. Includes a colour insert with 15 photos.
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Cure for Wereduck Book 2 of the Wereduck Series
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95Kate is an odd duck-literally. When the full moon arrives, the rest of her family turns into wolves, but she is a happy wereduck. Relatively happy, that is. Her family has been uprooted from the wilds of New Brunswick to a placid farming community in Ontario, thanks to a fellow werewolf, Marcus, selling them out to sleazy tabloid journalist Dirk Bragg. When Kate discovers her great-ÂgreatÂgrandmother’s recipe “A Cure for Werewolf,” she can’t help but wonder—is it really possible? Could she one day resist the call of the moon? Could she be free from the constant threat of exposure? When Marcus’s abandoned werewolf son, John, books a desperate train journey back to New Brunswick at the full moon, the ancient recipe and its arcane ingredients are put to the test. Will Dirk Bragg finally corner Kate and John in their wereÂforms and expose them to the world, or will Cure for Werewolf keep them safe?
A rare sequel that is as full of action and revelations as its predecessor, A Cure for Wereduck is imaginative, exciting, and peppered with Hackmatack Award Ânominated David Atkinson’s delightful humour.
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The Snow Knows
Artist: Josée BisaillonPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95The snow knows
where the rabbit goes.
It knows the hushÂshush
of the owl’s wing.In this deceptively simple children’s picture book, a pair of awardÂwinning storytellers share the joys of winter. A lyrical prose poem, The Snow Knows introduces readers of all ages to animals both domestic (a tabby cat by the wood stove) and wild (a slinking lynx; a choir of coyotes), celebrating wilderness and outdoor play.
With whimsical hideÂandÂseek illustrations, readers will love following footprints and catching a glimpse of an owl’s wing or pheasant’s feathers, suggesting what appears on the following page. A beautiful book, destined to be a perennial winter favourite, and read aloud by a crackling fire.
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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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Atlantic Canada’s Unusual Place Names Place name origins, attractions, legends, characters, history and firsts
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95A collection of unusual place names from the four Atlantic provinces! The origins of each of these 477 strange names are explained and any notable or quirky history is described in detail. Of course, many of these names become “unusual” only when they are at a distance from the place of their origin. Joe Batt’s Arm, for example, may seem unusual to a Manitoban (not to Newfoundlanders!). Pokemouche could sound odd to an Ontarian (but familiar to New Brunswickers!). This book also includes little-known facts, trivia, and occurrences from the Atlantic provinces, and also 18 mini-biographies of famous, infamous, and not-so-famous-but-still-interesting Atlantic Canadians.
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Duffy Stardom to Senate to Scandal
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95Mike Duffy made his name as a political reporter, and in the process became one of Prince Edward Island’s most famous exports. He cast himself as the ultimate insider, Parliament Hill’s man in the know. It made him a household name and one of the Canada’s bestÂpaid journalists. But Duffy wanted to get even closer and lobbied his way into the Canadian Senate, with dire results. Veteran journalist Dan Leger tells the story of Duffy’s rise to the top in Canadian media, his entanglement with the Harper Conservatives, and the scandal that made him one of the most controversial figures in contemporary politics. This paperback edition includes a new chapter on the 2015 expenses trial, a foreword by CBC’s Peter Mansbridge, and an 8-page colour photo insert.
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Mary Morrison’s Cape Breton Christmas
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95The Halifax Chronicle-Herald calls award-winning comedian Bette MacDonald “a superlative actress, a polished ad libber…making the audience howl with delight by a lift of her eyebrows, a shift of elbow or a single word.”
For years, Bette has delighted audiences with her irreverent and lovable Cape Breton character Mary Morrison. Now Mary is here to entertain readers with her stories and memories of the Christmas season. Mary Morrison’s Cape Breton Christmas is a treasury of all things holiday, including Mary’s advice for coping with family, gift-giving dos and don’ts, and even her favourite seasonal recipes. This new softcover edition of the popular books is a hilarious and colourful collection of Cape Breton Christmas humour.
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Big Book of Lexicon Vol 4, 5, 6
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95Theresa Williams’s lexicon puzzles have been hugely popular since they were first published in 1988. Half-crossword, half-word search, lexicon puzzles engage and entertain fans of all ages. This edition brings back volumes 4, 5, and 6 and presents them as one large book for hours of fun!
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Peggys Cove (Munn)
Photographer: Scott MunnPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95Seasoned photographer Scott Munn documents the iconic landscape of Peggys Cove in this gorgeous book of colour photography. Features 46 colour photographs with descriptive captions, and an introduction by award-winning journalist Quentin Casey.
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Nova Scotia’s Industrial Heritage A Guidebook
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$15.95If you drive across Nova Scotia, you will see abandoned rail lines and sleepy towns that once hummed with mills and mines. If you look closely enough, you will see the remnants of the province’s industrial revolution, which began in the 1850s and faded away a century later. In this well-researched, compact guidebook, author and historian David Rollinson identifies and explores many of the historic sites and cultural artifacts that record this era. Included are over 70 sites of interest from across the province, from the shipbuilding display at the Bear River Heritage Museum to the Digby Rail Trails on the old rail bed out of Digby which overlooks the Annapolis Basin. Organized by industry–power, natural resources, agriculture, crafts, and transportation–and by county, plus featuring 60 fascinating images, Nova Scotia’s Industrial Heritage will appeal to tourists travelling by car as well as locals interested in industry, their roots, and social change.
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December 1917 (new edition) Re-visiting the Halifax Explosion
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95December 1917 is a photographic guide to the Halifax Explosion by noted local historians Janet Kitz and Joan Payzant. The authors profile locations in both Halifax and Dartmouth that were affected by the explosion, looking at the role of the explosion in the transformation of the two cities. Stories and anecdotes reveal the ways in which the explosion touched the lives of citizens, and original research brings to light new aspects of the explosion. The book is richly illustrated with more than 100 historic and contemporary photographs.
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Apples and Butterflies
Artist: Tamara Thiébaux-HeikaloPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95From patchwork-quilt farmland to the winding red roads, from sandy beaches to the endless stars at night, Apples and Butterflies shows Prince Edward Island shining in the bright blue and gold light of fall. Shauntay Grant’s award-winning poetry and Tamara Thiébaux Heikalo’s rich and wild illustrations pull the reader towards the wide-open space of the island. New softcover edition.
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Vintage Christmas Holiday Stories From Rural PEI
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$24.95Travel back in time to when Christmas was a simple affair: children were content to receive an apple, an orange, or a piece of barley candy in their stockings; clothes, meals, and decorations were all homemade; and it was time spent with family–not expensive gifts–that warmed hearts during the holiday season.
This nostalgic collection recalls Christmas celebrations of the 1930s, ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, transporting readers to the unheated farmhouse bedrooms, thrilling “bigÂcity” department stores, and cozy barn stalls of rural Prince Edward Island. It turns out one thing has not changed: the most memorable part of any Christmas cannot be bought and sold.
Includes eighteen nonÂfiction stories, collected and retold by scriptwriter, playwright, and historical author Marlene Campbell.
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Sable Island in Black and White
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$15.95The newest addition to the Images of Our Past series, Sable Island in Black and White is a fascinating look at day-to-day life on Nova Scotia’s most secluded outpost during the nineteenth century. Travel back in time to 1884 when author Jill Martin-Bouteillier’s great aunt, Trixie, was growing up on this isolated spit of sand 160 kilometres from the North American mainland. Trixie’s father, Robert Jarvis (R. J.) Bouteillier, was Sable Island’s superintendent, acting on behalf of the Nova Scotia government as lawmaker, doctor, dispenser of stores, and, most importantly, head of lifesaving.
This narrative history accented by more than 100 black and white family photographs of the island’s famous shipwrecks, wild horses, and visitors tells the incredible true story of a stalwart group of ordinary people who called Sable Island home.
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Let’s Read!
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$10.95Let’s Read! brings parents, babies and books together to celebrate the joys of reading. This latest book in the popular Baby Steps series shows the many ways babies engage with books at different ages and stages, from looking and listening to pointing at pictures and choosing their bedtime books. See the foundation of reading build, from a newborn listening to their parent’s voice to a toddler excited about reading. Evocative photos of babies interacting with books and a bouncy read-aloud text will appeal to baby and parent alike. Every new parent will want Let’s Read! on their baby’s bookshelf.
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The Wine Lover’s Guide to Atlantic Canada
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$37.95Whether it’s racking up international awards or attracting tourists to the east coast in droves, the world has taken notice of Atlantic Canada’s wine. The Wine Lover’s Guide to Atlantic Canada is the definitive guide to region, through the blueberry-wine empire of Newfoundland and Labrador, to the isolated terroir of Prince Edward Island, the lush river vineyards of New Brunswick, and the rich coastal and valley wines of Nova Scotia.
In engaging, accessible text, sommelier-journalists Moira Peters and Craig Pinhey explore the history, climate, and industry of wine-making distinct to each Atlantic province, showcasing the various grape varietals, styles, and influences of this eclectic wine region. Features profiles of over thirty Atlantic wineries, sidebars, terroir maps, and is accented with over 75 stunning images from sommelier-photographer Jessica Emin.
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Years Before Anne (new edition)
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$18.95Francis W. P. Bolger, who teaches history at the University of Prince Edward Island, has compiled an informative and complete picture of the fascinating life and brilliant career of Lucy Maud Montgomery, drawing on her scrapbooks, letters, diaries, photos and conversations with family members.
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Old Man Told Us (new edition)
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$26.95The Mi’kmaq people have been living in what is now Atlantic Canada for two thousand years or more, yet written history has largely ignored them, presenting them merely as a homogeneous mass or as statistics. Renowned Micmac specialist Ruth Holmes Whitehead, formerly staff ethnologist and assistant curator in history at the Nova Scotia Museum, tries to redress that omission by restoring to the collective memory a true sense of the Mi’kmaq. In this rich collection, oral and written, Mi’kmaq accounts juxtapose contemporary European perceptions of native peoples, as documented in letters, journals, court cases, and much more. Above all, The Old Man Told Us is a historical jigsaw puzzle, a display of fragments of broken mirror in which one can capture moments in the lives of particular people. It is a book of excerpts from whatever scattered documentation has survived over the centuries.
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The Fundy Vault A Rosalind Mystery
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Linda Moore’s longÂawaited sequel to Foul Deeds is another highly engaging mix of art and environmental justice. Finally working a real job as a researcher for the Public Prosecution Service, Roz is on her first paid vacation. She has rented a cottage on Nova Scotia’s beautiful Minas Basin with plans to explore ideas for her next theatre production. Accompanied by her cat and a stack of Beckett plays, she has no sooner settled in than she spots what looks like a woman’s body tangled in the roots of a floating tree. Before the local RCMP can send a boat out, the body is retrieved by helicopter, and Roz watches it disappear over North Mountain. It’s time to call in her old sleuthing partner, McBride.
When McBride completely disappears, Roz and her longtime theatre friend Sophie roam the backroads and small towns of the Annapolis Valley in search of clues, narrowing in on the out-ofÂtheÂway quarry no one seems to want them to visit, the tanker trunks that nearly run them off the road, and a young journalist who seems to have come too close to the truth.
The Fundy Vault is a lightning-paced literary mystery that will keep the heart pumping and the brain ticking long after the final page.
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The Sea Was in Their Blood
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95The Sea Was in Their Blood explores two key questions: who were the men aboard the Miss Ally, and why were they battered and sunk by a storm forecasted days in advance? Through interviews with the crew’s families and friends, rescue personnel, and members of the tight-knit fishing communities of Woods Harbour and Cape Sable Island, award-winning journalist Quentin Casey pieces together the tragic sinking—including important case details not previously reported—and weaves in the backstories of the Miss Ally‘s crew and the lingering effects of their disappearance.
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Mersey River Lodge A Window on History and Nature
Photographer: David Burns, Farhad VladiPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$28.95The area defined by Nova Scotia’s Mersey River has been home to many: the Mi’kmaq, the English, the French, the Black Loyalists, even pirates and rum-runners. A location renowned for its natural splendour, in 1930 the Mersey River became home to anouther important resident: the Mersey Folk Lodge.
Originally intended as a respite for friends and family, and potential business partners, of Liverpool’s Bowater Mersey Paper Mill, the Mersey River Lodge has since become a tranquil retreat for both personal and professional excursions.
Written by Halifax historian Blair Beed, with breathtaking photographs by David Burns and Farhad Vladi, this beautiful keepsake celebrates the history of the Mersey River area, its industry, its people, and the lasting cultural legacy of the Mersey River Lodge.
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Untamed Atlantic Canada Exploring the Region’s Biodiversity Havens
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$27.95Spanning 1,200 kilometres from New Brunswick’s Passamaquoddy Bay to Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, Atlantic Canada stands as a nexus between North America and the North Atlantic Ocean. Its diverse geography, variable climate, and surrounding ocean currents coalesce to create a rich medley of habitats both on the land and in the sea. There are currently eight thousand known species in this little corner of the world, and awardÂwinning nature photographer Scott Leslie has captured a beautiful selection of them on these pages.
In Untamed Atlantic Canada, discover the stunning array of animals living in the region–from elusive black foxes, to clouds of semiÂpalmated sandpipers, and endangered right whales–through 140 colour images with detailed, narrative captions. This photographic collection is perfect for seasoned naturalists and novice nature lovers alike.
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Atlantic Coastal Gardening Growing Inspired, Resilient Plants by the Sea
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$27.95With a focus on sea-hardy flowers, vegetables, herbs, and shrubs, this highly visual narrative guide teaches gardeners on the North Atlantic coast how to cultivate, design, maintain, and enjoy coastal gardens. Chapters feature techniques for gardening in the coastal climate year round, gathering and growing seeds, simple, natural recipes for the seaside garden harvest, solutions to poor soil quality, and more!
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New Brunswick Was His Country
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$25.95Regularly described as New Brunswick’s greatest scholar, William Francis Ganong (1864-1941) wrote more than many people have ever read. His range of interests is reflected in his vast body of work: botany, zoology, physiography, cartography, and native languages were all within his reach. But his greatest interest, subsuming all others, was New Brunswick.
Ganong endeavoured to write even his most scholarly papers for the general reader, and that is what historian Ronald Rees had done with New Brunswick Was His Country. An appreciation of Ganong’s work and a biography of the man behind it, rather than an exhaustive critical assessment, this fascinating overview will appeal to any reader interested in the natural and settlement history of New Brunswick and the working life of its most extraordinary scholar, from his summers conducting field research in Passamaquoddy Bay to his pivotal role in founding the New Brunswick Museum.
Richly illustrated with historical photographs, Ganong’s own maps and drawings, and contemporary images, New Brunswick Was His Country is an essential addition to Atlantic Canada’s historical canon.
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Broken Pieces An Orphan of the Halifax Explosion
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95One hundred years ago, on December 6, 1917, the French munitions ship Mont Blanc collided with the Belgian relief vessel Imo in the Halifax Harbour. At first, a small fire broke out aboard the Mont Blanc, which grew bigger crowds of people and emergency responders linded the shores of Halifax and Dartmouth to get a better look. Suddenly, the Mont Blanc‘s explosive cargo blew up, flattening homes and businesses, and triggering a tsunami.
Amid the confusion and devastation that followed the blast was fourteen-year-old Barbara Orr, who had been walking from her neighbourhood in Richmond to a friend’s house. Follow Barbara as she navigates post-explosion Halifax, learning about rescue efforts, the kindness of strangers, and the bravery of heroes like Vincent Coleman along the way.
Part of the popular Compass series, this full-colour non-fiction book includes highlighted glossary terms, informative sidebars, over 50 illustrations and historical photographs, a detailed index, and recommended further reading. In commemoration of the tragic event’s 100th anniversary, Broken Pieces is a great resource for young readers and educators.
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The Effective Citizen How to Make Politicians Work for You
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$29.95Effective citizens–engaged, knowledgeable, and persistent, and united in common cause–are the most powerful force that ever was, or ever will be. I hope this book will help citizens to be more effective.
In his uniquely straightforward and accessible style, Political insider Graham Steele pulls back the curtain on our political system and gives readers a look inside. A lawyer, analyst, former Nova Scotia cabinet minister, and author of the Globe & Mail bestselling memoir What I Learned About Politics, Steele answers the burning questions of Canadians: Who really runs the parties? What does a backbencher do? How does a citizen effectively navigate the system, and achieve change through a politician? What is “truthiness?”
A primer for anyone who wants to become a politician or influence one, The Effective Citizen explains how politicians think and what factors influence that thinking; how to interpret the “non-answer” in political speech; and acknowledges that in politics, “bland is safe.” Ideal for political neophytes and junkees all the same, Steele’s newest book will have the whole country talking.
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For the Love of Lobster Celebrating Atlantic Canada’s Favourite Crustacean
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$18.95In this photographic gift book, author-photographer Denise Adams tells the “rags to riches” story of lobster, exploring the biology of this mysterious, well-armored underwater insect, the history and evolution of Atlantic lobster fishery, and offering humane cooking methods and delicious traditional lobster recipes with a modern twist. Includes 80 colour photographs.
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New Brunswick Sea Stories
Artist: Ralph OlivePublisher: Nimbus Publishing$15.95Phantom ships, sea monsters, mutiny, and murder find their places beside stories of those Iron Men of the sea who sailed their ships around the world time and time again in dangerous circumstances. New Brunswick Seas Stories by Dorothy Dearborn runs the gamut from miracles to mayhem as the author presents stories reflecting the times and traditions of two centuries of shipbuilding and sailing in New Brunswick.
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Simon Spatz From Holocaust to Halifax, A Story of Survival and Success
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$29.95Former journalism professor Michael Cobdon tells the remarkable story of Nova Scotia business magnate Simon Spatz, who survived the Holocaust, immigrated to Canada at middle-age with no knowledge of English, and developed a multi-million-dollar real estate firm.
