When released in 2003, The Room, an obscure, self-financed relationship drama by an eccentric self-taught filmmaker named Tommy Wiseau, should have been completely forgotten. Yet nearly two decades later, "the worst movie ever made"—as many a critic would have it—has become the most popular cult film since The Rocky Horror Picture Show.In You Are Tearing Me Apart, Lisa!, contributors explore this priceless cultural artifact, offering fans and film buffs c...

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Russian empire opened the grasslands of southern Ukraine to agricultural settlement. Among the immigrants who arrived were communities of Prussian Mennonites, recruited as “model colonists” to bring progressive agricultural methods to the east. Transformation on the Southern Ukrainian Steppe documents the Tsarist Mennonite experience through the papers of Johann Cornies (1789–1848), an ambitious and energetic leader of the Mennonite ...

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Russian empire opened the grasslands of southern Ukraine to agricultural settlement. Among the immigrants who arrived were communities of Prussian Mennonites, recruited as "model colonists" to bring progressive agricultural methods to the east. The three volumes of Transformation on the Southern Ukrainian Steppe document the Tsarist Mennonite experience through the papers of Johann Cornies (1789–1848), an ambitious and energetic lead...

The Saskatchewan Mental Hospital at Weyburn has played a significant role in the history of psychiatric services, mental health research, and providing care in the community. Its history provides a window to the changing nature of mental health services over the 20th century.Built in 1921, Saskatchewan Mental Hospital was considered the last asylum in North America and the largest facility of its kind in the British Commonwealth. A decade later the Canadian Committee for Mental Hyg...

Peter Alexeyevich Kropotkin (1842-1921) was a distinguished thinker and scientist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A descendant of an ancient princely line and a graduate from Imperial Russia's Page Corps, Kropotkin became a famous proponent and theorist of anarchism. This edition collects Peter Kropotkin's notable works and articles. Throughout these tests, Kropotkin lays out, in simple, elegant terms, the basic principles of anarchy and his criticism of modern society. The auth...

British social reformer Robert Owen once declared that "man is the creature of circumstances." A century and a half later, his famous words still ring true. While many adopt a fatalist approach, believing that their lot in life is inevitable, in fact a number of highly complex social factors determine the outcome of our socioeconomic status and integration into society. It may seem unfair, but the conditions into which we are born largely determine the various courses that our lives take. In...

Welcome to my library.Dog-eared paperbacks falling to pieces.Second-hand books from the stores and barrows of four continents.Modern first editions, some inscribed ...In My Reading Life, a personal investigation into the nature of democracy, dictatorship, decency and the hardwired human condition, Bob Carr shares his profound love of books and reading - books you've never heard of, books you've always wanted to read,...

Disability exists in the shadows of public awareness and at the periphery of policy making. People with disabilities are, in many respects, missing from the theories and practices of social rights, political participation, employment, and civic membership. Absent Citizens brings to light these chronic deficiencies in Canadian society and emphasizes the effects that these omissions have on the lives of citizens with disabilities.Drawing together elements from feminist studi...

Third book in my series on German-Russians of the Volga Colonies. The goal of this book is to identify the hardships that my German-Russian ancestors endured and overcame in the Volga Colonies. The First Chapter covers their emigration to the Volga Colonies. The Second Chapter covers the Shock and Disappointment, Death Rate, Wild Weather, Sickness, and Food Shortages that they endured. Chapter 3 is about Tsarina Catherine the Great and her “promises.” Chapter 4 covers the Robber Bands and ...

In her latest book, sociologist Diane Crocker challenges the popular perception that crime in Canada is on the rise and argues that public opinion is becoming a bigger barrier to achieving justice than the actual extent of crime. Using the most current data available, her research reveals how we can better assess the effectiveness of crime control policies, as well as our own responses to crime, while promoting democratic values such as equity and accountability.

Fostering Nation? Canada Confronts Its History of Childhood Disadvantage explores the missteps and the promise of a century and more of child protection efforts by Canadians and their governments. It is the first volume to offer a comprehensive history of what life has meant for North America’s most disadvantaged Aboriginal and newcomer girls and boys.Gender, class, race, and (dis)ability are always important factors that bear on youngsters’ access to resources. State fost...