A Possible Madness
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$19.95Like many smallish and inelegant towns that dot the coastlines and crossroads of this country, Shean’s postwar, post-industrial economy is in desperate disrepair, and the lengths that some civic leaders will go to in order to do “what’s best” for a town like Shean sometimes requires a leap of faith that has unintended consequences. When a global corporation plans a daring scheme to exploit the remaining coal from an improbable source – and thus to secure Shean’s economic future – politicians try to marginalize the few voices of dissent. Some voices, however, are not easily silenced.
Thomas: A Secret Life
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$19.95Set in early-18th-century France, Thomas: A Secret Life is the imagined life of Thomas Pichon. We first meet Thomas as a twelve-year old in the small town of Vire, Normandy. Precociously sensuous by nature, Thomas is inclined to poetry and religious/erotic imaginings. A series of adolescent adventures provide striking background to his character. Rejecting parental insistence that he become a priest, Thomas steals away to Paris in the middle of the night. There, nearly broke, Thomas works as a lowly office clerk, joins the ranks of aspiring French writers and makes extra money serving as a part-time spy for the police of Paris. But his careers advance too slowly for his liking, and he finds himself taking regular comfort and release in prostitutes’ stalls. A rendezvous with a high-class courtesan brings a new possibility and Thomas plots a future in which he can have his cake and eat it too. Writer, lover, spy: Life is nowhere near as good or as easy as Thomas Pichon imagined it would be.
Our Grandmothers’ Words Traditional Stories For Nurturing
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$14.95Traditional child-raising practices recognize that you begin to raise a child from the moment you know you are pregnant. Through traditional stories, Grandmothers’ understandings guide and nurture parents and children as they grow together.
Strangers in the Land The Ukrainian Presence in Cape Breton
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$19.95First published in 1986, Strangers in the Land is a carefully researched telling of stories of Cape Breton’s Ukrainians, written by a son of the community, John Huk. Working tirelessly in archives, he spent countless hours combing through municipal and steel company records, collecting press clippings and other relevant papers as well as memorabilia, interviewing community members about their family histories, and working with his family to put together a story of a century of Ukrainian life in Cape Breton. Huk produced a book that stands as a valuable historical document and, in the process, also amassed a wealth of artifacts and documentation now forming the Huk fonds at the archives of the Beaton Institute at Cape Breton University-providing an invaluable source of data for a new generation of researchers. It is the only history of Ukrainian experiences in Cape Breton published to date; all the more impressive is that Huk gathered the information and published the book almost entirely on his own as a self-taught community ethnographer and historian. His work has also inspired more recent research focusing on Canadians of Ukrainian descent, especially their music, dance and the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Parish in Sydney, Nova Scotia. This congregation celebrates the 100th anniversary in 2012. Now with a new introduction by Marcia Ostashewski , PhD, and new appendices, Strangers in the Land is a celebration of the traditions and cultural gifts of Ukrainians in Cape Breton and their contribution to Canadian history.
Social Economy : Communities, Economics and Solidarity in Atlantic Canada
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$27.95THIS BOOK CONTRIBUTES to the growing literature on the social economy from the particular perspectives of Atlantic Canadians who have been part of the Social Economy and Sustainability Research Network. It illustrates the importance of the sector to the region’s social, economic and public life while exploring its potential for positive change. Prefiguring an economy based on principles of human values and principles of solidarity, the social economy offers a space for people to exercise democracy in realms thought to be “economic” and thus exempt from such priorities. The social economy has the aim of development in a double sense-development of the individual and local or community development. What is at stake is no less than democratizing the economy, creating a space for dialogue and debate, building partnerships, networks and capacity for innovation, sustainability, democracy and justice-in other words, developing the potentials for a social economy. Considerable innovation and significant contributions to quality of life thrive within the social economy in the Atlantic region. Organizations vary tremendously, not least in terms of how successful they are in meeting the immediate and longer term objectives to which they and their supporters aspire. This volume marks one step in furthering such understanding.
Around the Year with the Malagawatch Mice
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$11.95Follow the antics of Cape Breton’s favourite Celtic creatures –the Malagawatch Mice –as they observe and celebrate the customs and traditions of their Highland heritage. Featuring Caroline Stelling’s wonderful watercolour illustrations, Around the Year includes explanations of numerous holidays, observances and pastimes
From the Hearth
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$12.95Recipes from the World of 18th-century LouisbourgThe recipes presented here are those that the authors believe were once served in the house and inns of historic Louisbourg. Modern interpretations?giving specific quantities and cooking times?have been provided for all but a few preparations.Though research has not turned up any individual recipes used in 18th-century Louisbourg, historians and archaeologists do know most of the foods they ate. They also know the regions in France from whence many of the inhabitants of Louisbourg (or their parents) originally came.
Beartan Briste
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$14.95Born in Dublin, Ireland, Rody Gorman is Writer-in-Residence at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Isle of Skye. He has worked as writing fellow at the University College Cork and the University of Manitoba and is editor of the annual Irish and Scottish Gaelic poetry anthology An Guth. He has published a wide range of poetry collections and his selected poems in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, Chernilo, were published by Coiscéim in 2006.
Beartan Briste is the latest collection from this prolific Gaelic poet. His highly original English “intertongueings” are wonderfully entertaining in their own right – providing insight not only to the nature of his poetry, but the nature of Gaelic interpretation.
Selby
Artist: Gisele LeBlancPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$11.95In this story, biologist Downer takes a different approach from his two previous books (Selina: An Atlantic Salmon and Schnider’s World: A Harp Seal Story). Selby’s habitat and life cycle, are explored in perspective with the lobster fisherman who wants to catch him. Readers learn about the Atlantic lobster and about the people who struggle to make a living by harvesting them.
The story follows Selby’s life in Ragged Harbour, foraging for food avoiding predators, including Jake the lobster fisher, who really wants to catch Selby. A fierce storm destroys a lot of Jake’s fishing gear and brings about a change in the way he regards the sea and its many creatures –including Selby the Lobster.
Schnider’s World
Artist: Gisele LeBlancPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$11.95Our Story Follows the life cycle of Schnider, a harp seal, from his birth on the ice floes off the northeast coast of Newfoundland.
Through Schnider’s eyes young readers learn about his weaning and maturing, the melting of the field of drift ice where he was born, his explorations, adventures and close calls in the search for food along the Newfoundland coast and, eventually, to the feeding grounds of Lancaster Sound and back again.
Schnider is joined by two other books about marine life: Selby the Lobster and Selina: An Atlantic Salmon, also by Don Downer and Gisele LeBlanc-Turner.
Selina
Artist: Gisele LeBlancPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$11.95This book follows one fish as she develops from a tiny pink egg into a full-grown salmon. Selina explores the place she was born so it is imprinted in her brain so she can return to the same river tributary to lay her eggs. She has a narrow escape from becoming food for other, larger fish, birds, eels and even humans. Don Downer is chair of the Aquatic Centre for Research and Education, is involved with the Fish Friends school program, sponsored by the Atlantic Salmon Federation, and does contract work relating to salmon for Fisheries and Oceans.
Cultures of Militarization
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$39.95Special Edition of TOPIA Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies
Women, War & Hypocrites
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$19.95Robert Campbell’s Reading the Qur’an in English is an introductory guide to help readers experience the Qur’an on its own terms. Following his guidance, in conjunction with reading an English language version of the Qur’an, can reveal a great deal about the nature of Islam and about how the Qur’an compares with other Abrahamic scriptures. People who are unwilling or unable to delve into the text of the Qur’an on their own will always be at risk of having their opinions shaped by others. In this new book, Dr. Campbell expands the journey through his analysis of the thematic structure of the fourth surah (The Women), a large and complex surah containing some of the most controversial verses and ideas in the Qur’an. The key issues addressed are women (on marriage, lewdness, wife beating and hijab), war (on killing, battle, jihad and terrorism) and hypocrites (on believers, the People of the Book, idolatry, intoxication and the crucifixion of Jesus). Given that Islam traces its prophetic heritage from Noah through to Abraham, Moses, Jesus and finally Muhammad, much of the content of the Qur’an will be familiar to those with even a passing exposure to the scriptures of the Jews and Christians.
Language of this Land Mi’kma’ki
Artist: Trudy SablePublisher: Cape Breton University Press$19.95The ancient landscapes of Eastern North America are reflected in the language and cultural expressions of its Indigenous peoples, the Mi’kmaq. The rhythms, sounds and patterns of their language are inextricably bound with the seasonal cycles of the animals, plants, winds, skies, waterways and trade routes. The Language of this Land, Mi’kma’ki is an exploration of Mi’kmaw world view as expressed in language, legends, song and dance. Using imagery as codes, these include not only place names and geologic history, but act as maps of the landscape. Sable and Francis illustrate the fluid nature of reality inherent in its expression – its embodiment in networks of relationships with the landscape integral to the cultural psyche and spirituality of the Mi’kmaq. Language has sustained the Mi’kmaq to the present day, a product of a lineage of Elders who spoke it, who danced the dances and walked this land,Mi’kma’ki, carrying its traditions forward despite centuries of cultural disruption, discrimination and degradation.
Rannsachadh Na Gaidhlig 5
Editor: Ken NilsenPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$24.95Proceedings from the fifth Rannsachadh na Gaidhlig conference, held in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, in July 2008.
TR’s Adventure at Angus the Wheeler’s
Artist: Virginia McCoyPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$14.95On a warm summer day, ten-year-old T.R. decides to share a secret with his bored brothers, the Terrible Twins and Sunny James. Elves and Fairies live in the garden of their neighbor.
But all is not well in this secret garden; Guks have abducted a Princess and are holding her hostage at a farmhouse known as Angus the Wheeler’s. T.R., the Terrible Twins and Sunny James team up with the Fairies and set out to free the Princess.
What follows is an epic battle between the Fairies and the Guks and T.R. has to use his own gentle magic against a darker magic to free the Princess and protect the Fairies.
Filled with wonder and strong characters—and, best of all, a happy ending—T.R.’s Adventureis supported by colourful and fanciful illustrations making it suitable for young readers and younger audiences.
Basement Suite
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$19.95Eddy and Liz participate in a relationship study for extra cash and learn that they don’t share the same opinions about fidelity, sex, career or truth. In fact, they don’t understand each other. Eddy tries. Liz tires. Basement Suite is a sexy, cheeky look at another side of love.
Reading the Qur’an in English
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$19.95The unique beauty and richness of Islam’s sacred book calls out for it to be read and enjoyed by all. To be open to following the structural logic of the Qur’an, Western expectations about the use of narrative, description and dialogue should be set aside. Robert Campbell provides this introductory guide to help readers experience the Qur’an on its own terms. Following his guidance, in conjunction with reading an English language version of the Qur’an, can reveal a great deal about the nature of Islam and about how the Qur’an compares with other Abrahamic scriptures.
Guthan Priseil
Editor: Anne LandinPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$22.95The songs and stories recorded here are the voices of past and present Cape Breton. They have been recorded so that the artistic expression of Cape Breton Gaelic singers can be made available to all who are interested in this authentic Gaelic tradition.
English translations are included for all songs.
Failure of Global Capitalism
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$19.95What do Cape Breton and Colombia have in common? Coal, for one thing. Coal mining was the backbone of Cape Breton’s industrial economy for more than one hundred years, but the last mine was closed in 2001 when the province’s utility company took advantage of neoliberal globalization by importing coal—from Colombia. There’s more. Colombia and Cape Breton represent the loss of well-paid, unionized industrial jobs as a result of neoliberal globalization—the economic hegemony that allows multinational corporations in the global North—primarily North America and Europe—to exploit the natural resources and cheap labour of the global South—Latin America, Africa and Asia. But the commonalities between Cape Breton and Colombia do not end with coal, there are numerous connections directly related to the capitalist system: militant labour struggles, repression, economic insecurity, population displacement, social inequality and environmental devastation. Activists and scholars Gibbs and Leech use the examples of Cape Breton and Colombia to illustrate the harsh realities suffered by people throughout the global North and the global South under neoliberal globalization, particularly with regard to socio-economic and environmental issues. Ultimately, they expose the failure of industrial capitalism, and look toward more sustainable and egalitarian alternatives.
Cape Breton Wonders
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$19.95Did you ever wonder why… your mother re-washed the wash?Did you ever wonder why… the lighthouse lights, or why the miners risked their lives?
One God, One Aim, One Destiny
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$22.95The story of African settlement in Cape Breton was barely documented and on the verge of being lost. In 2006, the African Nova Scotian community in Glace Bay decided to restore a derelict meeting hall of the Universal Negro Improvement Association from the early decades of the 20th century. As part of that project, the community created a museum to recognize and celebrate the history of the black community in Cape Breton.
Endgame 1758 The Promise, the Despair and the Glory of Louisbourg’s Last Decade
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$26.95The story of what happened at the colonial fortified town of Louisbourg between 1749 and 1758 is one of the great dramas of the history of Canada, indeed North America. The French stronghold on Cape Breton Island, strategically situated near the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, was from soon after its founding a major possession in the quest for empire. The dramatic military and social history of this short-lived and significant fortress, seaport, and community, and the citizens who made it their home, are woven together in A. J. B. Johnston’s gripping biography of the colony’s final decade, presented from both French and British perspectives. Endgame 1758 is a tale of two empires in collision on the shores of mid-eighteenth-century Atlantic Canada, where rival European visions of predominance clashed headlong with each other and with the region’s Aboriginal peoples. The magnitude of the struggle and of its uncertain outcome colored the lives of Louisbourg’s inhabitants and the nearly thirty thousand combatants arrayed against it. The entire history comes to life in a tale of what turned out to be the first major British victory in the Seven Years’ War. How and why the French colony ended the way it did, not just in June and July 1758, but over the decade that preceded the siege, is a little-known and compelling story.
Honour Roll
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$19.95The Nova Scotia Highland Brigade sailed on the SS Olympic, from Halifax on October 12, 1916, and played a significant role in the victories of World War I, including the now-infamous Vimy Ridge.In time for the 90th anniversary of the battle for Vimy, historian James MacDonald has catalogued information about members of the Highland Brigade (85th, 185th, 193rd, 219th Battalions) killed or mortally wounded in action.The Honour Roll collates, for the first time in a single publication, the name, date of birth, family origin, vocation, enlistment details, date and where they were killed in action and final resting place and of each member. Fifteen battle maps showing troop movements are included, along with a description of Commonwealth war graves where the soldiers are buried.
A Better Life A Portrait of Highland Women in Nova Scotia
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$22.95MacIsaac interviewed nearly 100 descendants of Highland Scots women and provides this heart-and-soul treatment of the lives of Scots immigrants from women’s perspective. She includes an extensive look at women in teaching, nursing and religious congregations. This is an exploration of the traditions and experiences in the lives of Highland Scottish women – in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and in the eastern counties of Nova Scotia where so many of them settled (Pictou, Antigonish, Inverness and Victoria counties primarily). In A Better Life, oral accounts obtained from descendants, enriched by written sources – precious archival collections and rare books – offer insight into the influences central to the cultural, religious, working, caring and devotional lives of Highland women: the dreams and realities of a better life if Nova Scotia.
Reflections of Care
Editor: Donna Anderson Currie, Tom AyersPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$18.95Down the hall, across the street, around the corner an around the world, the education, experience and care of Cape Breton’s nurses are testimony to that capacity–in hospitals, clinics, neighbourhoods and on foreign soil.
The need to capture their experiences has resulted in these reflections spanning 100 years–from the opening of the first nursing school on the Island in 1905. By car, on foot, on horseback, by boat, snowmobile, small aircraft and helicopter, Cape Breton’s nurses have distinguished themselves as caregivers, observers, listeners and advocates. These are just some their stories.
Cape Breton Fiddle
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$24.95In the Cape Breton Fiddle, Glenn Graham, an accomplished Cape Breton fiddler, explores the rootes of the Cape Breton fiddling tradition, an art firmly rooted in Scottish Gaelic cultural forms, through an evolution that has made Cape Breton an icon of creativity recognized throughout the world.
Community Economic Development
Editor: Eric Shragge, Michael ToyePublisher: Cape Breton University Press$27.95Communities have long been ahead of governments in responding to changes in the economy, forging ahead with innovative grassroots projects that now make up a substantial portion of economic development initiatives.
Having made major gains in practice and having built local capacities through innovation, Community Economic Development now stands at a crossroads. In Building for Social Change, Eric Shragge, Michael Toye and colleagues from across the country offer a timely critical examination of CED practices and debates.
This book is designed for CED practitioners, for others working in community-based organizations and those being trained. There are a growing number of post-secondary programs in English Canada that educate students in CED and related fields such as regional development, yet there are not many publications that provide analytical perspectives and debate.
The goal of this book is to describe and analyze CED practice, primarily in Canada, through a wide range of subjects—the evolution of its definitions, economic dimensions and the key elements that form its context.
Building for Social Change situates CED in wide political, economic and social contexts: rich examples of the scope and practices, and some of the limits—in Aboriginal communities, as a tool to support women, psychiatric survivor enterprises, housing and worker ownerships—are explored to help spur further critical discussion and debate.
As A’Bhraighe
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$22.95It has been said that the greatest Gaelic poets were from Lochaber in the Scottish Highlands. Those who emigrated to Nova Scotia in the 18th and 19th centuries were the living memory of clan history and tradition. Allan the Ridge MacDonald stands out as one poet who inherited and maintained an extraordinary wealth of vocabulary and a superior knowledge of clan and legendary history. In this first compilation and translation of the known Gaelic songs of Allan the Ridge in print, Effie Rankin gives all readers an insight into the life of the poet and the traditions that made him a highly regarded seanchaidh.
Loon Rock
Artist: Dozay ChristmasPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$9.95The story of a loon and a young Mi’kmaq boy written in English and Mi’kmaq.
Skippers Save the Stone
Artist: Hector MacNeilPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$11.95Skippers Save the Stone is the second adventure of the Skipper dogs. When they travel to Scotland, the Skippers learn that the legendary Stone of Scone has been stolen by a clan of squirrels! The only way they can save the stone is to win a boat race, but the crafty Chief McNut has a trick up his sleeve. Can the Skippers bring back the Stone of Destiny?
