Getting lost in North End Halifax can be an adventure if you know where to look and have an open and inquiring mind. For Steven Laffoley who has already written several entertaining books about Halifax, it's much more than a Sunday stroll.In Lost in the Right Direction, he begins his quest with this observation:When I get lost, I don't fuss. You either find your way back or you don't, and so far, I always have, though sometimes I am late for dinner. Not so long...

Every year, some two million visitors enter Point Pleasant Park, a unique 190-acre collection of paths, ponds, and port-o-potties; flora, fauna, and fungi; battlements, monuments, and burial mounds all situated at the far south end of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The number of visitors is astounding given the entire population of Halifax is presently about half a million people, a good many of whom believe that any aerobic exercise beyond reaching out the car window for a Tim Horton’s double-doub...

When Steven Laffoley first arrived on the rocky shores of Nova Scotia, he discovered some rather exotic food fare: deep-fried seafoods, oiled crustaceans, and an otherworldly, post-beer, Middle Eastern fusion food called The Donair. They all stimulated the appetite and captured his attention. He was transfixed. Far from the canned ravioli and Jell-O salads of his youth, Laffoley discovered that Nova Scotian food could be fresh and fascinating, frivolous and fun. As a result, he was determi...

“My reason for being in the tavern was important. I wanted to better understand the history of beer in Nova Scotia. Or more specifically, I wanted to know how it was that Nova Scotians became the foremost makers and drinkers of the stuff. In truth, Canada had long ago tumbled down the consumption of beer per capita mountain among the world’s nations, finding itself in paltry thirty-fourth place, lagging far behind beer-drinking powerhouses like Mexico and Botswana. And Nova Scotia, well, o...

Following the Second World War, a new generation of politicians and planners across North America set out to reimagine their cities. With great verve and vision, they conceived of brave new urban landscapes filled with elevated highways, modern housing, thriving businesses, and engaging public spaces. All it would take, they said, was a deep collective capacity to dream and a determined willingness to wipe away the past.And the idea caught on.With great enthusiasm, these po...

December 1954: the old city in winter wears its two hundred years of grime and vice without any shame. The paint peels from ramshackle homes, and the streets congeal with snow and mud. Weary pedestrians trudge through the bleakness with chins tucked below the collars of threadbare coats. Nothing comes easy to the old city, and nothing ever changes — too many tangled secrets and too many unspoken debts. And yet a new suspension bridge, being built out over the harbour to Dartmouth and set t...

George Dixon (1870-1908) was the finest boxer of his generation and arguably among the finest boxers ever. His accomplishments in the ring were extraordinary: the first Black boxing champion, the first champion of multiple weight classes, and the first champion to lose and regain the title. He defended his title more than any other champion and fought in an unprecedented 800 bouts. Making these achievements even more astonishing, George Dixon publicly fought and beat hundreds of white boxe...