We held a Celebration of Life for Sheena Fraser McGoogan at the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto. The date: October 5, 2024. To watch it, click here. 

Is that the sound of History rhyming? (As published in the Toronto Star on Aug. 28. 2024) Greetings, Canadians of 2024. I write from Paris, France, in September of 1942. We have been living under Nazi occupation for two years and let me tell you, we are not enjoying it. Last July, the Nazi authorities…

Shadows of Tyranny: Defending Democracy in an Age of Dictatorship, by Ken McGoogan (Douglas & McIntyre) [Editor’s Note: Although it could be argued the B.C.-related content of this book is thin, the outcome of the November election in the United States will affect the province. Perhaps Ron Verzuh’s reflective review might soothe nerves in advance of…

Researchers Find Cannibalized Victim of 19th-Century Arctic Voyage A new study offers clues to a 179-year-old mystery that killed more than 100 explorers on the Franklin expedition in the Canadian Arctic. By Alexander Nazaryan //  The New York Times / Oct. 4 Into the frozen fray they went, the explorer Sir John Franklin and his…

The headline in The Cipher Brief shows the usual bit of attitude. “Oh, Canada. The Yanks Are Not Likely to Invade.” But the review itself, while flawed, is thorough and impressive. It comes courtesy of Bill Rapp, who holds a Ph.D. in European History and served more than 35 years as a CIA analyst, diplomat,…

Wikipedia describes LitHub as “a daily literary website highlighting the best in contemporary fiction, nonfiction, and criticism.” Probably you subscribe to it, as I do. Anyway, as Shadows of Tyranny launches into the American market, it’s great to see LitHub deploy the Jack London chapter from the book. Chapter 38. Jack London: Vive la Revolution!…

An old high-school friend, who is still based in the Montreal area, alerted me to this review in The Gazette. Shadows of Tyranny : Defending Democracy in an Age of Dictatorship Ken McGoogan (Douglas & McIntyre). BY PAT ST. GERMAIN (Montreal Gazette / 14 September 2024) September feels like the unofficial start of a new…

Where is our Churchill? A new book wonders who will rise to meet the challenge of Trumpism By John Ackermann / Vancouver CityNews / Aug. 31, 2024 If elected to a second term, former U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to be a dictator but “only on day one.” Whether or not that remark was tongue-in-cheek,…

A looming threat: Historical accounts of 20th-century fascism ring frighteningly true today Reviewed by Douglas J. Johnston / Winnipeg Free Press / Aug. 24, 2024 The substratum alert of this nifty collection of historical accounts of the rise of fascism is: “It can happen here” — the “it” personified in one Donald J. Trump. Guelph,…