Rick Mercer Report: The Paperback Book is an updated, expanded remix of its bestselling predecessor, Rick Mercer Report: The Book, containing 10,000 words of new material from the show’s fifth season. Rick’s celebrated rants are some of the sharpest political commentary to be found anywhere in the country’s media, and certainly the funniest. They are featured here, along with other moments from the show—including encounters with Conrad Black, Jean Chrétien, and Anne Murray—and many additional pieces, some of which first appeared on his website. Because when he’s not jumping into a lake with David Suzuki or Bob Rae, or helping the leader of the Green Party kill a tree, Rick Mercer likes to relax by blogging. From Kabul, say. Or the bearpit of a leadership convention. Rick Mercer Report: The Paperback Book will help you make sense of five extraordinary years in the life of Canada—or at least laugh despite them.
Canada's pre-eminent satirical commentator brings down the curtain on his hugely successful show in this instant #1 national bestseller. Rick Mercer startled the nation when in 2017 he announced that the 15th season of Canada’s most-watched and beloved comedy show the Rick Mercer Report would be the last. As this book reminds us, he quit while he was way, way ahead. Final Report includes blisteringly good rants from the final five seasons and some of the very best rants from the show’s early years. And in three brilliant new essays that include a love letter to Parliament Buildings, how Doug Ford became Ontario premier (hint: it had nothing to do with talent) and how he managed not to freak out in the year after the RMR wrapped, Rick, a recipient of a 2019 Governor General’s Performing Arts Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award, reveals himself as a comic writer and entertainer at the very top of his game.
INSTANT #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER Canada's beloved comic genius tells his own story for the first time. What is Rick Mercer going to do now? That was the question on everyone's lips when the beloved comedian retired his hugely successful TV show after 15 seasons—and at the peak of its popularity. The answer came not long after, when he roared back in a new role as stand-up-comedian, playing to sold-out houses wherever he appeared. And then Covid-19 struck. And his legions of fans began asking again: What is Rick Mercer going to do now? Well, for one thing, he's been writing a comic masterpiece. For the first time, this most private of public figures has turned the spotlight on himself, in a memoir that's as revealing as it is hilarious. In riveting anecdotal style, Rick charts his rise from highly unpromising schoolboy (in his reports "the word 'disappointment' appeared a fair bit") to the heights of TV fame. Along the way came an amazing break when, not long out of his teens, his one-man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It. Or, Charles Lynch Must Die, became an overnight sensation—thanks in part to a bizarre ambush by its target, Charles Lynch himself. That's one story you won’t soon forget, and this book is full of them. There's a tale of how little Rick helped himself to a tree from the neighbours' garden that's set to become a new Christmas classic. There's Rick the aspiring actor, braving "the scariest thing I have ever done in my life" by performing with the Newfoundland Shakespeare Company; unforgettable scenes with politicians of every variety, from Jean Chretien to George W. Bush to Stockwell Day; and a wealth of behind-the-scenes revelations about the origins and making of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Made in Canada, and Talking to Americans. All leading of course to the greenlighting of that mega-hit, Rick Mercer Report . . . It's a life so packed with incident (did we mention Bosnia and Kabul?) and laughter we can only hope that a future answer to "What is Rick Mercer going to do now?" is: "Write volume two."
INSTANT #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER A candid look into the life and career of one of Canada’s most trusted journalists, in his own words. Today, Peter Mansbridge is often recognized for his distinctive deep voice, which calmly delivered the news for over fifty years. Even though he never considered becoming a broadcaster, in some ways he had been preparing for a life as a newscaster from an early age. Every night around the dinner table, his family would discuss the latest news stories, from Cold War scandals to the Beatles. So in 1968, when a CBC radio manager in Churchill, Manitoba, offered him a spot hosting the local late-night music program, Peter embraced the opportunity. Without a teacher, he tuned into broadcasts from across the world to learn the basic skills of a journalist, and he eventually parlayed his position into his first news job. Twenty years later, he became the chief correspondent and anchor of The National. With humour and heart, Peter shares behind-the-scenes stories from his distinguished career, including reporting on the fall of the Berlin Wall, walking the beaches of Normandy with Tom Brokaw, and talking with Canadian prime ministers from John Diefenbaker to Justin Trudeau. But it’s not all serious. Peter also writes about finding the “cure” for baldness in China and landing the role of Peter Moosebridge in Disney’s Zootopia. After years of interviewing others, Peter turns the lens on himself, reflecting on the people and places that have shaped his life and career.
The true story, drawn from official documents and hours of personal interviews, of how Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation and became Canada's tenth province in 1949. A rich cast of characters--hailing from Britain, America, Canada and Newfoundland--battle it out for the prize of the resource-rich, financially solvent, militarily strategic island. The twists and turns are as dramatic as any spy novel and extremely surprising, since the "official" version of Newfoundland history has held for over fifty years almost without question. Don't Tell the Newfoundlanders will change all that.
Jann Arden is funny. And sincere. She has legions of devoted fans. And a radio show. She is a darling of the music scene—always candid, always unplugged. You thought you knew Jann Arden, but there is more—to her readers' delight, in Falling Backwards Jann reveals her childhood, her bond with family, her struggle in the formative years and what keeps her so grounded in the whirlwind entertainment industry. Jann has always been true to herself, except for a minor lapse when she was young. Oh wait, wasn't that all of us? From the tender and honest to the laugh-out-loud funny, Jann's stories from home and from the road during her pre-celebrity years will take you to unexpected places, including high school parties in farmer's fields, sleepovers under the stars, hard-to-believe summer jobs and the time she was stuck upside down in a brick barbecue. She reminds us of the inestimable value to a child of having teachers who believe in you and wide open spaces to play. But with the good times come the bad (and not just the bad perm). Jann opens up about the darker side of her so-called prairie perfect nuclear family and the first signs that her eldest brother was a uniquely troubled young man. In the days when Jann was experiencing a lot of firsts—first school play, first home perm, first kiss—how lucky for all of us that she stole away to her basement and taught herself her first song on her mother's guitar. In addition to being an incredible musician and multi-award-winning lyricist, Jann is a natural writer and simply an inspiration. Jann will capture your heart—and keep you in stitches—with her powerful stories about coming of age as an artist and as a human being. Jann brings her wit and that infectious sparkle to everything she does. This book is no exception.
One of the great Canadian actors of his generation, Gordon Pinsent has worked in theatre, and on film and television, for more than six decades. In this compelling and candid, engaging and entertaining memoir, Pinsent shares career highlights - including roles in Quentin Durgens, M.P., The Rowdyman, John and the Missus, Due South, and Away from Her - and explains why, at the age of eighty-two, he needs to keep performing. Pinsent also writes openly about his personal life, including growing up in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, his struggle with anxiety, the challenges of being a sometimes-absentee father to his three children, and his forty-year love affair with the acclaimed actress Charmion King.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER Canada's most verbally virtuosic comic makes his literary debut—and he's just as richly, gloriously funny on the page as on stage. His legion of fans—the ones who ensure his every show the length and breadth of Canada is sold out—recognize Ron James as one of the great stand-ups of his generation. His seemingly improvisational flights of fancy—no two shows are ever the same—are crammed with inventive phrase-making, feature a voluminous vocabulary, and put every word into the service of uproarious comedy. He sounds like a man born to write a great book—and now at last he has. But this is a book he has been writing for most of his life, in his head, in his car, while driving from gig to gig. In All Over the Map, Ron has brilliantly captured the voice that has enthralled millions on stage and screen. He also lets up a little on the usually relentless laughs (though there are still plenty of those) to reveal a new dimension to his beloved showbiz character. His hilarious reminiscences of growing up in Nova Scotia and his early struggles as an aspiring comic, his reveries on such topics as family, country, celebrity and lessons learned from myriad chance encounters will deepen our appreciation for this great comic and win him many new fans in his new role as author.
Finally, the actual date of the Exodus has been discovered! For thousands of years the epic stories of Moses, the Israelites and their exodus out of Egypt and into the Promised Land have been told to millions of awe inspired listeners. It is a grand tale of miracles and deliverance, cemented as the cornerstone of faith for both Judaism and Christianity. An historic battle of mighty heroes and evil villains clashing both on earth and in the heavens! But there's one problem! No physical Egyptian proof has ever been found to corroborate these biblical stories. That's right. No mention of Moses, Joseph, the Israelites, or the Exodus has been identified in the Egyptian historical records. Until now! This is a mystery that has perplexed biblical scholars and historians for thousands of years. How could it be that this historic collision of civilizations cannot be confirmed through the records of Egypt? Did they really happen? Has there been a cover up? Have the stories been somehow misinterpreted or embellished over the passage of time? I took on a mission to find the truth and the answers I discovered are truly astounding. It turns out the reason no proof has been found is because we have been looking in the wrong era! The evidence is plainly available, but until now no one has been able to put the puzzle pieces together. Now, for the first time, we are able to piece together the true timeline of the Hebrew origins and know, based on actual Egyptian records plus confirmed in the Bible, the true date of the Exodus... 1174 BC!
Computing Fundamentals with C & & offers a gentle, objects-early approach to teaching C & & . In response to readers feedback, this book offers greater organizational flexibility and expanded topical coverage than many of its competitors.
