2007 Finalists - Non-fiction
Rodrigo Bascuñán and Christian Pearce, Toronto, for (Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada; distributed by Random House of Canada) (ISBN 978-0-679-31388-5)
This book explores, from an insider’s point of view, how guns are an integral part of popular culture, from hip-hop to Hollywood. Moreover, it reveals the devastating impact of gun culture on Canada, especially its Black youths. Timely and well-written. A must read.
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John English, Kitchener (ON), for Citizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Volume One: 1919-1968 (Alfred A. Knopf Canada, a division of Random House of Canada; distributed by Random House of Canada) (ISBN 978-0-676-97521-5)
In well-researched, fascinating detail, the author portrays, not only the privileged early years of Pierre Trudeau’s life, but the Quebec that formed him. This is a fair, but not sycophantic biography of one of Canada’s most remarkable prime ministers.
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Stephanie Nolen, Johannesburg, South Africa (formerly of Montreal), for 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa (Alfred A. Knopf Canada, a division of Random House of Canada; distributed by Random House of Canada) (ISBN 978-0-676-97822-3)
28: Stories of AIDS in Africa puts a human face to the overwhelmingly tragic pandemic. These stories are at once honest, poignant, powerful and insightful. Nolen guides us through the AIDS humanscape and makes us care.
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Karolyn Smardz Frost, Collingwood (ON), for I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad (Thomas Allen Publishers; distributed by Thomas Allen & Sons) (ISBN 978-0-88762-250-2)
Karolyn Smardz Frost weaves prodigious archaeological and historical research into a rich, historically revealing tapestry of the era of the Underground Railroad. The saga of Thornton Blackburn and his wife, from slavery in Kentucky to freedom in Ontario, is social history at its finest.
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Bridget Stutchbury, Woodbridge (ON), for Silence of the Songbirds: How We Are Losing the World’s Songbirds and What We Can Do to Save Them (HarperCollins Publishers, an imprint of HarperCollins Canada; distributed by publisher) (ISBN 978-0-00-200728-3)
A beautifully written, learned and passionate cri de coeur about the fate of nature’s enchanting songsters. But there’s hope: the author prescribes ways to save our feathered neighbours from oblivion.
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