This book tells the fascinating story of Montreal, Canada, from prehistoric time through the 21st century. From the Iroquoian community of Hochelaga to the bustling economic metropolis that Montreal has become, this account describes the social, economic, political, and cultural forces and trends that have driven the city's development, shedding light on the city's French, British, and American influences. Outlining Montreal's diverse ethnic and cultural origins and its strategic geographi...

It's 1963, Jean-Yves Soucy is 18 and looking for a summer job. He dreams of being a fire warden scanning the boreal forest from a fire tower. But to his dismay he is sent to an equipment depot somewhere between Val-d'Or and Chibougamau in Northern Quebec. His disappointment vanishes when he learns that the depot is located near a Cree community and that he will have two Cree guides, including a man named William Saganash, and his work will involve canoeing through the lakes and rivers of t...

It's a long way from a basement apartment in a Montreal suburb to a new life on a fictional planet, but that's the destination our unnamed narrator has set his sights on, bringing readers with him on an off-beat and often hilarious journey. Along the way, he writes poems, buys groceries at the dollar store, and earns minimum wage at a dead-end supermarket job. But not to worry—he is John McClane, he is the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi (with a bacteria he's never heard of), he is Justin Timberla...

The year is 1684. Young Eustache Bréman leaves a life of misery begging on the streets of France for a second chance in the New World with his mom, his sweetheart Marie-Élisabeth, and Marie-Élisabeth’s family. But life is tough, with plenty more tragedy and disappointment to come on Cavelier De La Salle’s ill-fated expedition to the Mississippi. Mutinous leaders, bloodthirsty freebooters, a hostile Karankawa nation and the wild Gulf Coast bayous make for heartbreaking adventure. Weaving re...

A thrilling escape through a land of betrayal and cultural conflict awaits young Radisson.The year is 1654. Radisson finds his diplomatic skills tested as tensions rise between the French and the Iroquois. He must navigate the treacherous waters of religious fervor, distrustful traders, and the ever-present threat of war. As Radisson forges friendships with Iroquois favoring peace, a web of conspiracy tightens around him, threatening to plunge the region into chaos...

Emile Claudel is no ordinary child. Only months after he was born, following the liberation of France in 1945, he can already speak several languages, much to his mother's frustration. Emile, nicknamed the Little Fox for his appearance, is born into a loveless home, where patience is in short supply. Abandoned by his family, he struggles to find a place in society. This deftly written coming-of-age novel follows Emile on his journey toward adulthood, as the country he was born into passes ...

Nadia Comaneci's gold-medal performance at the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976 is the starting point for a whole new generation. Eric Dupont watches the performance on TV, mesmerized. The son of a police officer (Henry VIII) and a professional cook—as he likes to remind us—he grows up in the depths of the Quebec countryside with a new address for almost every birthday and little but memories of his mother to hang on to. His parents have divorced, and the novel's narrator relates his chil...

In the spring of 1651, a 15-year-old Parisian, Pierre-Esprit Radisson, lands in Trois-Rivières on the St. Lawrence River. Within weeks, the course of his life changes dramatically when Iroquois braves capture him. Canoeing across rivers and lakes and portaging over mountains, Radisson's captors take him to distant lands where they first torture him, then adopt him as a brother. In this first tome of the adventures of North America's most famous coureur des bois—an independent entr...

The story of a public personality—the possible future mayor of Montreal—this memoir recounts how Richard Bergeron and his four brothers lived in an orphanage for five years in the 1960s. Set in a small city in Northern Quebec, surrounded by bush and industry, this account describes the five floors of dormitories with 50 children on each floor, the daily routine, and the nuns who ran the orphanage. This short and moving story of how Richard began the rest of his life will take the reader to...

A gripping tale of survival and adventure in the New World. The year is 1684. Twelve-year-old Eustache Bréman leaves behind a life of misery begging on the streets of France for a second chance in the New World with his mom, his sweetheart Marie-Élisabeth, and Marie-Élisabeth's family.But life is tough, with plenty more tragedy and disappointment to come on De La Salle's ill-fated expedition to the Mississippi. As Eustache comes of age in Louisiana, he must navigat...

Though both parents were alive, Richard and his four brothers lived in an orphanage for five years! It was in 1959, five floors of dormitories at fifty children a floor, with nuns’ cells on each floor. Richard recalls that, “as in all concentration-camp systems, daily life is dull and repetitive.” Some get up, make their beds, say their prayers, while others line up for the strap. It’s just routine. Sometimes for some people it’s fun, or at least tolerable. For others, it is unbearable. Bu...

Spring 1651: a young man from Paris lands in Trois-Rivières on the St. Lawrence River. Within weeks, the course of his life changes drastically when Iroquois braves capture him. Pierre-Esprit Radisson, then 15 years old, begins a new life. Canoeing rivers and lakes and portaging over mountains, Radisson’s captors take him to distant lands where first they torture him and adopt him as their brother. Radisson then becomes the Iroquois Orinha, goes to war with his new brothers, and learns the...