| Books have been a popular Christmas gift since the invention of the printing press. They’re easy to wrap – no gift box required – and they can be matched to the recipient’s tastes. That’s why bookstore shelves are sagging with new inventory this time of year and Internet retailers are in a frenzy of book promotions. ("Compare prices on millions of products!")
For your consideration, Fast Forward has selected a few titles that, on Christmas morning, might warm the heart of that special person – or, at the very least, bring relief that it’s not another ugly sweater. Here’s the list, with the first four suggestions large enough to qualify as "coffee table" books:
People who actually get out of their vehicles when encountering the mountain range west of Calgary will enjoy The Rockies, a Natural History by Richard Cannings (Greystone Books, 290 pp.). The biologist-author describes the flora and fauna of the region, and not just the stone-strewn parts but also the forests and adjacent drylands. Laid out in encyclopedia format with pastel-backed sidebars, the text is illustrated by high-quality photos and detailed drawings.
Between the Rockies and the Saskatchewan border, there’s enough varied topography and animals to keep a first-class nature photographer and science writer such as Wayne Lynch busy, as shown in his Wild Alberta: A Visual Celebration (Fifth House, 136 pp.). His sweeping, leafy vistas are skilfully composed and his wildlife pictures are simply spectacular. Among my favourites are a bighorn sheep, a snarly bull elk and a jackrabbit in the snow.
Alberta Remembers: Recalling Our Rural Roots (Red Deer Press, 144 pp.), one of this year’s numerous centennial-themed releases, combines watercolours by Lethbridge artist Karen Brownlee and text by Edmonton writer Ken Tingley. At least one grain elevator is included in all of Brownlee’s selected paintings (although it’s not always the dominant image), symbolizing disappearing landmarks. Tingley supplies some written history, noting for example that Claresholm once had six of those tall wooden structures.
Another 100-year-old province with a strong rural culture is showcased in Saskatchewan: The Luminous Landscape by Courtney Milne (Red Deer Press, 144 pp.). Photographer Milne works wonders with a landscape’s colours and textures, making art out of even a dry, cracked lakebed. This book would go well with a new camera, showing the gift recipient what can be done when you’re a master of the craft.
Moving to a few regular-format books that could be welcome stocking-stuffers, we have One Christmas in Washington by David Bercuson and Holger Herwig (McArthur & Company, 320 pp.). The two University of Calgary historians chronicle, in an accessible, lively style, a secret Second World War meeting in Washington between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the dark days of the 1941-42 winter. Britain was fighting for its life and America had just been plunged into the war by Imperial Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. The book describes a historic alliance being formed amidst conflicting personalities and great historic events.
A different president – the assassinated John F. Kennedy – is among the subjects covered by The Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories by James McConnachie and Robin Tudge (roughguides.com, 420 pp.). Unlike so many "guides" that merely skim the surface of a couple dozen topics, this one offers a wealth of tightly written stories of guile and skullduggery whose veracity ranges from probably-true to you-must-be-outta-your-mind. All segments cite multiple published sources as well as fascinating websites.
A highlight of the season’s new books is Santa Claus: A Biography by Gerry Bowler (McClelland & Stewart, 278 pp.). Winnipeg-based Bowler, a prolific author and feisty historian, looks at Santa’s varied transformations from religious icon (Saint Nicholas) and 19th-century poetry subject to lovable elf and pitchman for the toy industry. The author is a renowned expert on Christmas (he wrote the World Encyclopedia of Christmas) and deserves to be supported in these times when the C-word itself is under siege by zealots of political correctness.
What the Bleep Do We Know!? by William Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente (Thomas Allen & Sons, 278 pp.) evolves from the popular film of the same name, which blended drama, mysticism and science to create a novel view of a woman’s (Marlee Matlin) reality that’s on the verge of unravelling. This book version gives us more time to savour Newtonian physics, the daily bombardment of information, and the twists and turns of our own emotions. Like most books based on a film or TV special, it has too many clever illustrations and not enough text, but there’s enough there to keep a reader happy for awhile as the turkey digests.
Deficiencies in substance aren’t a consideration with Behind the Glory: Canada’s Role in the Allied Air War by Ted Barris (Thomas Allen, 355 pp.). Don’t think of this as a leftover from this past spring’s Victory in Europe 60th anniversary commemorations, because it’s likely to stand as the definitive book about the twilight recollections of Canadian airmen in the Second World War. As always, Barris seems to put us right into the hard slog of military training and the heat of battle through the eyes of those who were there. |
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