McGill-Queen's University Press Blog

What's cooking?

Nathalie Cooke's recently released book, What's to Eat?, has received an eloquent and favourable review by Anne Chudobiak from the Montreal Review of Books. Her review highlights the intriguing "everything old is new again" theme, and particularly recommends the book to "[a]nyone who roasts their own coffee beans..., smokes their own bacon, or who simply makes a point of buying raw milk cheese, artisanal bread, or fair-trade chocolate."

"It's fall. For weeks, the stalls at farmers' markets have spilled over with sensual abundance: zucchini (and more zucchini), tomatoes, and corn. There couldn't be a more evocative time of year in which to launch a book about food.

What's to Eat? is an academic book with crossover appeal for readers from the "granola-meets-gourmet" foodie subculture..." (Read more)

Yesterday evening L. Ian Macdonal launched his new book, Politics, People and Potpourri, to a large and enthusiastic crowd that included well-known political figures, who are among his many admirers and readers. Premier Charest glowingly endorsed the book and recommended it to anyone interested in Canadian poltics. We send our Congratualtions to the author. Below are some phtos of the evening's highlights. 

(Top Right) Tremblay and MacDonald have a friendly catch-up. 
(Top Left) L. Ian MacDonald signs a copy of his book for Premier Charest
(Bottom Right) L. Ian MacDonald signs a copy of Politics People and Potpourri for a fan. 

A very Big Biblical Bargain

If you're as excited to get your hands on a copy of Canada's Big Biblical Bargain, as McGill was to get its hands on the Dead Sea Scrolls, check out this article in the Gazette. Co-authors of the McGill-Queen's forthcoming book, Jason Kalman and Jacqueline duToit, gave a talk to the James McGill Society last week. Their book is set to be released in Spring 2010.

Remember Bennett on Parliament Hill

Arthur Milnes and Christopher McCreery have recently published a book called The Authentic Voice of Canada: R.B. Bennett's speeches in the House of Lords 1941-1947. An excerpt of their book appeared in the Telegraph-Journal on Saturday. Their book includes copies of Bennett's speeches, reflections on his place in Canadian history, and a critique of how Canada has (not) remembered Bennett.   

In the excerpt, Milnes remarks that Bennett "is hardly mentioned at all in the annals of Canadian historiography." Milnes goes on to propose that we begin "to make amends with the memory of our 11th prime minister. A new statue of a PM placed on the Hill... is long overdue. Bennett's time has come." (Read more)

Corporatized universities devalue education

Did you know that "[t]he federal government would now have to invest an additional $4 billion a year in iversities just to return to the funding levels of the early 1980s?"

Howard Woodhouse, author of Selling Out: Academic Freedom and the Corporate Market, wrote an Op-Ed for the Toronto Star this past weekend. Woodhouse argues that the market model is not the only way forward, and that governments have a responsibility to fund universities. In his Op-Ed, he writes that "Governments, corporations and most university administrators regard Canadian universities as "engines of economic growth." Their function is no longer the search for truth, but to increase global competitiveness." Read more. 

Remembering a lesson in military heroism

In theme with Rememberance Day, The Chronicle Herald has reviewed Triquet's Cross, by John MacFarlane. In their review, they note that "very few biographies have been written of individual Canadians who were awarded the Victoria Cross" and assert that "MacFarlane... has taken a giant step towards correcting this shortcoming." Further, they label the book as "well-researched and highly readable."

To read their full review, click here.

Bringing Art to Life and news

The Ottawa Citizen calls Bringing Art to Life, by Andrew Horrall, "an important book, [about] a true Canadian tragedy that deserves telling." Their review of Horrall's book is available here.

      In 1959, Alan Jarvis - the brilliant and charismatic director of the National Gallery of Canada - was forced to resign following a disagreement with the government over the purchase of works by European Old Masters. He never fully recovered from this dismissal, or the public humiliation that followed, succumbing to alcoholism in a little over a decade... (read more)

Death, a happy ending?

   

Todd May, author of Death (part of The Art of Living Series), was recently published in the New York Times. His article, "Happy Ending," offers practical insight on the phenomeona of life and death.