McGill-Queen's University Press Blog

Richard W. Pound's "Unlucky to the End", a review from the Montreal Review of Books

A recent review of Richard W. Pound's Unlucky to the End from the Montreal Review of Books --

"Although Dick Pound is best known as chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency and IOC vice-president, Janise Gamble's story has nothing to do with sports. And yet, to read the life of this average kid from Peterbourgh is akin to being caught in a safe spot on the side of the mountain, helpless, watching an avalanche roar down on an unsuspecting group of skiers. In both cases the end is inevitable.

Pound chooses to use a gentler metaphor. "A few small events of a couple of wrong choices -- the sort of thing that could happen to anyone -- may be enough to steer someone off the path of a normal, happy existence. In the same way, a butterfly stirring the air in Southeast Asia may affect whole storm systems a month later in North America."

Janise Gamble was caught in a storm of her own making. A happy kid from a small town in Ontario, Janise was fatally attracted to a charmer, John Gamble, whose darker side included alcoholism, drug addiction, spousal abuse, and a life of petty crime. During their brief and tragic marriage, the mesmerized Janise continued to forgive her husband. Even after the most violent beatings she always took him back when he wept and cried that she was all he had to live for. He didn't live long. He and a buddy decided to rob a Credit Union in Calgary. The buddy shot a police officer, the pair took hostages, and the duo decided to commit suicide via a drug overdose rather than face arrest and prison. Gamble died, the friend didn't, and he and Janise where tried and convicted for the murder -- a crime Janise didn't commit. She was sentenced to 25 years in Kingston's women's prison where lifers were given no training for re-entry to the real world. Six years later, following a piece on CBC's The Fifth Estate, a Montreal lawyer made Janise his cause, working towards her release. The rest of the story is the final thundering roar of the avalanche.

This is not an easy read. It's not a pleasant story. But Pound, who became interested in Janise's story when he met the Montreal lawyer, has created a compelling story with very real characters. It's a bleak picture on an abusive relationship and a striking exposure of a Canadian miscarriage of justice that is as powerful as the stories of Steven Truscott, Donald Marshall, and David Milgaard.

Pound is a skilful craftsman who uses photos and phone and trial transcripts which add to the drama. But the main reason that Unlucky to the End rises far above cheap sensationalism or detective fiction-type action is that Pound, once he heard the story from Colin Irving, was a man on a mission "to see what had happened and, to some extent, how and why."

For Canadians, the "how and the why" of this tragic miscarriage of justice is undoubtedly as important as the "what," the grim unfolding of events which began when an uncomplicated small town girl fell in love with a sociopath."

- Montreal Review of Books

Akenson's "Some Family", a review from the Montreal Review of Books

A recent review of Akenson's Some Family from the Montreal Review of Books --

"The Mormon Genealogical Project (once called the International Genealogical Index) started in 1894, and was grown to be the world's largest collection of genealogical data. Most genealogists, it is safe to say, use the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' material with unquestionning gratitude. Akenson's evaluation of the material -- how it has been collected, and how it is used -- should give them pause. One of the central themes of this book is that there are four main genealogical forms whereas the LDS material uses only one. There are other cautionary tales to be found in the appendices, including the statistical likelihood of false paternity, wrongly attributed maternity, and incest blurring the nice, neat family tree. Akenson's insistence on the family as narrative is an evocative one, the "kernel" of each tale leading to the kernel of the next. His scholarly insistence on referring to "Yeshua of Nazareth" and "Miriam" can grate, but he is an equal-opportunity offender: Catholics, Jews, Mormons, genealogists, and historians can all find something to be annoyed about. They can also find much to chuckle about as Akenson is a witty and charming writer. This book should be required reading not only for all genealogists, but also for all those bureaucrats who mistakenly believe that the microfiche copies the LDS members provided of the the original books of record are the real deal."

- Montreal Review of Books

Flanagan speaks on upcoming Throne Speech in Lethbridge Herald

From 10 October 2007 --

Expect a few surprises in next week’s Throne Speech. But don’t expect a snap federal election.

That’s the word from political scientist Tom Flanagan, a long-time adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Don’t expect any surprises in this week’s provincial elections, either, he said, Tuesday. Flanagan predicted Premier Danny Williams and his Conservatives would sweep Newfoundland — he was proven correct later in the day — but said Ontario’s Conservatives have blown their chances in that election.

"The Liberals will win a majority in Ontario," Flanagan predicted during a brief appearance in Lethbridge. Author of a recently released political memoir, Flanagan has returned to his political science post at the University of Calgary after years as a senior adviser to Harper and Reform Party leaders as they morphed into Alliance and eventually Conservative colours.

The prime minister will catch some people by surprise when his Throne Speech is read next week, Flanagan said in an interview. "I know his style. There will be a couple of small surprises," at least. "He likes that."

No longer in Harper’s inner circle, Flanagan admitted he doesn’t know what the government’s new agenda will include. But he said there are still election campaign promises to honour, including more tax cuts.

"The government is well off," and it’s time the Conservatives cut corporate taxes as promised. "They should cut that second point off the GST as well," lowering the rate to five per cent ahead of their five-year target. "They can afford to do that earlier."

Flanagan said Harper could also get to work on promises to allow provinces to opt out of federal programs, taking cash instead. "That will be popular in Quebec," where the province already operates its own pension plan.

As for the federal Liberals, their biggest challenge seems to be setting some priorities. Flanagan said it’s not enough to simply oppose everything the government proposes. "They’ve got to put together a platform."

Instead of continually criticizing the Tories for disregarding the Kyoto agreement, for example, Flanagan said Liberal leader Stephane Dion should offer a plan — if he’s elected — to bring Canada up to speed on the issue.

"What is the Liberals’ plan now?" he asked.

First in the Liberals’ priorities, Flanagan suggested, should be getting their house back in order. Dion — who won with less than 20 per cent support — needs to draw more people in the party’s organization and Flanagan said he needs to spend a lot more time fund-raising. "The Conservatives are in a good position," with plenty of talent and money at their disposal. "They’re ready to go any time."

Flanagan, in Lethbridge to speak at a public session organized by the political science department at the University of Lethbridge, also stopped at the campus bookstore to sign copies of his latest book.

"Harper’s Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power" was recently previewed as a cover story in Maclean’s magazine. And it’s drawn comment from plenty of readers — including Dion, who believed it offers proof of Harper’s "hidden agenda."

That’s surprising, Flanagan said, because he always advocated moderation and "incrementalism" in moving toward more conservative policies. Many other political figures have also called him to share their views since the book was released this fall.

But not his old boss, Stephen Harper. "I haven’t heard anything from him," said the author. "I think he’s too busy for literary criticism."

- Dave Mabell

Nortin M. Hadler on NPR

An interview with Dr. Nortin M. Hadler hosted on National Public Radio Thursday, October 4. to promote his latest novel, The Last Well Person.

http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/sot1004a07.mp3/view

Its spring 2007 release almost a foray of things to come in documentary filmmaker Michael Moore's hugely successful Sicko, The Last Well Person is a provocative look at how America's self-serving medical industry, through unnecessary intervention, turns healthy people into patients.

--

Dr. Hadler is professor of Medicine and Microbiology/Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and attending rheumatologist, University of North Carolina Hospitals.

Torontonians Trivia Contest Winners!

And the winners are...

Grand Prize (Fairmount Royal York prize package) -

Evan Fox-Decent

Second Place Prizes (complimentary copy of The Torontonians) -

Eric Huberdeau

Katrin Urschel

Jacqueline Mason

Emmanuel Resch

Tarah Brookfield

Thanks to everyone who entered in our contest and congratulations to our winners!

And the answers were...

Question 1 - In what year was the City of Toronto federated into a regional government known as Metropolitan Toronto?

Answer: 1953 and 1954 were both accepted - The postwar boom had resulted in rapid suburban development and it was believed that a coordinated land use strategy and shared services would provide greater efficiency for the region. The Metropolitan Toronto Act was passed in April of 1953 and came into effect 1 January 1954. The metropolitan government began to manage services that crossed municipal boundaries - highways, water, public transit.

Question 2 - This 56th mayor of Toronto convinced City Council to hold an international design competition for a new City Hall on the northwest corner of Queen and Bay streets. A total of 520 designs were received from 42 different countries. Who was the mayor - and who was the winning architect?

"You would have to go far a field to find anything as dull as Toronto City Hall, a fact that Mayor *** seemed to be more sharply aware of than anyone else."

Answer: Nathan Philips was mayor of Toronto from 1955 to 1962. The winner of the design competition was Finnish Architect Viljo Revell. Construction of the new city hall commenced on 7 November 1961, and the building was opened on 13 September 1965. Viljo Revell also designed the city square that forms the front (south) entrance to City Hall, named, of course, after the man who first inspired the project - Nathan Philips.

Question 3 - With the Toronto Maple Leafs winning three consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1960s, this was the decade to be a hocket fan in Toronto. What were the winning seasons for the Leafs?

Answer: 1962-63, 1963-64, 1966-65, and again in 1966-67 – the winning goal scored by George Armstrong – the end of the Toronto Maple Leafs as a powerful force in the NHL for many years to come.

Question 4 - In 1960 Canada's busiest airport was rebranded the Toronto International Airport from what original name?

Answer: First opened in 1939 as Malton Airport, the Toronto International Airport was again renamed in 1984 in honour of Canada's 14th Prime Minister. In 2005 The Lester B. Pearson International Airport was ranked 29th among the world' busiest airports, handling 29.9 million passengers.

Question 5 - Street car travel was the main service provided by the Toronto Transportation Commission during the first half of the 29th century. What year marked the opening of Toronto's First subway line?

Answer: In 1954, the TTC adopted its present name -- the Toronto Transit Commission, opened its first subway line -- the U-shaped Yonge-University-Spadina Line, and greatly expanded its service to cover the newly formed municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. The east-west running Bloor-Danforth Line started in 1966.

Question 6 - What popular vice-president of the University of Toronto became the first President of York University, founded in 1959?

Answer: Murray Ross was still vice-president of the Universtiy of Toronto when approached to become York University's new president. Initially envisioned as a feeder campus of U of T, York University's first class was held in September 1960 on the University of Toronto campus, moving to the Glendon campus in the fall of 1961. It was Ross's powerful vis9ion that led York to become a completely separate institution.

Question 7 - Opened on June 11, 1929, the Royal York was designed by Ross and Macdonald and built by the Canadian Pacific Railway across the street from Union Station. With 28 floors, the art deco-style building was the tallest in Toronto at the time, and remains to this day a distinct feature of the Toronto skyline. The hotel was enlarged in what year (making it the largest hotel in the Commonwealth for many years to follow)?

Answer: in 1959 the Royal York was enlarged with the addition of the east wing, to a total of 1,600 rooms.

Question 8 - Originally published in 1887 as Toronto Saturday Night -- a weekly public affairs update, Saturday Night (suspended in 2005) had atumultuous 118-year history. The magazine flourished under the editor B.K. Sandwell in the 1930s but declined after he left in the 1950s. What editor, appointed in the late 1960s, was largely responsible for bringing Saturday Night back to a place of prominence?

Answer: Robert Fulford, who began his journalism career when he left high school in 1950 to work for the Globe and Mail as a sports reporter, took the helm of Saturday Night in 1968 and remained there until 1987.

Question 9 - Founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, the T. Eaton Co. Limited grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices around the globe, and a catalogue that found itself in the homes of most Canadians. What 1953 merger forced Eaton's to re-evaluate its practices?

Answer: Eaton's was forced to re-evaluate its practices after Simpson's, its largest competitor, merged with Sears of the United States. Eaton's began to abandon manufacturing in the mid-1960s, and by the arly 1970s, the Eaton's catalogue was losing $17-million a year.

Question 10 - Concerned with the growing influence of American radio broadcasting as U.S.-based networks began to expand into Canada, in 1929 the Aird Commission on public broadcasting recommended the creation of a national radio broadcast network. In 1932 the CBC's predecessor, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission was established and in 1936 the CRBC became a Crown corporation and gained its present name -- for the next few decades, the CBC was responsible for all broadcasting innovation in Canada. Television broadcasts from the CBC began on what date, and on what date was CBC's television signal expanded from coast to coast?

Answer: Television broadcasts from the CBC began on 6 September 1952, with the opening of a station in Montreal (CBFT), and a station in Toronto (CBLT) opening two days later. On 1 July 1958 CBC's telvision signal was extended from coast to coast.

"Sir William Macdonald" launch coverage in McGill Reporter

From the 27 September 2007 issue of the McGill Reporter --

"Though often best remembered for the eponymous college he founded in 1906, Sir William C. Macdonald played a pivotal role in the evolution of McGill University into the world-renowned institution it is today.

That's at least one of the lessons contained in author William Fong's newly released Sir William C. Macdonald: A Biography, a point driven home by the fact the Sept. 24 book launch took place in McGill's downtown Macdonald Engineering building.

"Sir William was about more than Macdonald College; he was about McGill," said Chandra Madramootoo, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and master of ceremonies for the launch, organized in collaboration with the Macdonald Stewart Foundation. Foundation president Liliane Stewart remarked on the appropriateness of the setting, given that the Engineering building—along with Physics and Chemistry and, later, the building that today houses the McCord Museum—was among the philanthropist's first gifts to the University.

Principal and Vice-Chancellor Heather Munroe-Blum further praised Macdonald as a man "of great stature" who helped to build McGill not only as a leading educational institution but, between the downtown and Macdonald campuses, as a place "with more green space than anywhere else on Montreal island."

Author William Fong, noting that his father earned a degree in Engineering from McGill, said he feels a personal debt to the University and had long been interested in exploring the legacy of Sir William Macdonald.

"He made McGill known across Canada and beyond," Fong said. "

- Michael Bourguignon