"Pens and Types" by Benjamin Drew explores the intricate relationship between writing instruments and the art of communication. Drew delves into the historical evolution of pens, from quills to modern ballpoints, illustrating how these tools have shaped the way we express thoughts and ideas. The book is not just a technical examination; it also reflects on the emotional and cultural significance of writing. Through vivid anecdotes and personal reflections, Drew invites readers to appreciat...

Voyageur Classics is a series that issues special new versions of Canadian classics, with added material and special introductions. In this bundle we find two classic works of Canadian historical writing. During three extraordinary years, 1805-1808, Simon Fraser undertook the third major expedition across North America, culminating in his famous journey down the river in British Columbia that now bears his name. Fraser’s exploratory efforts helped lead to Canada’s boundary later being decl...

In the early 1850s, white American abolitionist Benjamin Drew was commissioned to travel to Canada West (now Ontario) to interview escaped slaves from the United States. At the time the population of Canada West was just short of a million and about 30,000 black people lived in the colony, most of whom were escaped slaves from south of the border. One of the people Drew interviewed was Harriet Tubman, who was then based in St. Catharines but made several trips to the U.S. South to lead sla...

In the mid-1850s, Boston abolitionist Benjamin Drew visited numerous Canadian towns, interviewing scores of refugees from Southern slave states and taking notes of what they had to say. For reasons of safety, he protected the identity of his informants and used fictitious names.Drew's subsequent book was an immediate response to a volume by a Boston preacher who opposed abolition. Drew's soul-stirring account, the culmination of countless fugitive slave autobiographies that preceded...

Voyageur Classics is a series of special new versions of Canadian classics, with added material and special introductions by noted experts. This bundle contains some of the greatest Canadian fiction, including influential literature from Quebec (Maria Chapdelaine, The Town Below), a collection of the best of the legendary Pauline Johnson, Peregrine Acland’s gripping Great War novel All Else is Folly, a classic tale of Irish immigration (The Yellow Briar)...

First published in 1935, Pilgrims of the Wild is Grey Owl's autobiographical account of his transition from successful trapper to preservationist. With his Iroquois wife, Anahereo, Grey Owl set out to protect the environment and the endangered beaver. Powerful in its simplicity, Pilgrims of the Wild tells the story of Grey Owl's life of happy cohabitation with the wild creatures of nature and the healing powers of what he referred to as "the great Northland" of "Over the ...

The West was a lawless domain when Jerry Potts was born into the Upper Missouri fur trade in 1838. The son of a Scottish father and a Blood mother, he was given the name Bear Child by his Blood tribe for his bravery and tenacity while he was still a teen. In 1874, when the North West Mounted Police first marched west and sat lost and starving near the Canada-U.S. border, it was Potts who led them to shelter. Over the next 22 years he played a critical role in the peaceful settlement of the...

When the Free Grants and Homestead Act was first introduced in 1868, fierce debates erupted in Ontario's Legislature over whether land in the Muskoka region should be opened to settlement or reserved for the Aboriginal population. From the beginning, many people vented serious doubts about the free grant scheme, citing the district's poor agricultural prospects. In the end, such caution was ignored by overeager boosters.The story in Hardscrabble also takes readers to Brita...

Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See.In Kabul, 2007, with a drug-addicted father and no brothers, Rahima and her sisters can only sporadically attend school, and can rarely leave the house. Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows young ...

An Eastern Correspondent spends the summer on duty with Hancock's 1867 Indian Expedition, following Hancock and Custer as they attempt to make peace with the warring Indians on the plains. Good examples of real life in the Indian Wars.

When The Souls of Black Folk was first published in 1903, it had a galvanizing effect on the conversation about race in America-and it remains both a touchstone in the literature of African America and a beacon in the fight for civil rights. This landmark book is a founding work in the literature of black protest. W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963) played a key role in developing the strategy and program that dominated early 20th-century black protest in America. In this collect...

One voice. One story. A nation changed forever. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, the world hears for the first time the unforgettable account of a man born into bondage who broke his chains—not just for himself, but for generations to come. Published in 1845, this classic memoir became a rallying cry for abolition and remains one of the most important autobiographies in American history. ✊ Written with courage, clarity, and uncompromising truth. Douglas...