Tag: Books
On hostage diplomacy and the cold war with China
The Two Michaels: Innocent Canadian Captives and High Stakes Espionage in the U.S.-China Cyber War Mike Blanchfield and Fen Osler Hampson Sutherland House, November 2021 $9.99 Kindle $24.70 paperback 300 pages For more than 1,000 days, two Canadians named Michael captured the attention and sympathy of the nation. Hostages of the Chinese government, they were […]
On diplomacy, sovereignty and peacemaking
They Call It Diplomacy: Forty Years of Representing Britain Abroad By Peter Westmacott Head of Zeus, Apollo Books, 2021 368 pages Kindle: $9.99 Soon after Peter Westmacott arrived in Turkey as British ambassador, a bomb razed Pera House, the British consulate general in Istanbul. Twelve consulate employees died in the 2003 attack, and three people […]
China: A hidden workforce and education crisis
One recent, pre-COVID-era Christmas, I searched out the neighbourhood Canadian Tire for an instant-read thermometer, a gift for the cook in the family. There were several types on display, and out of curiosity, I started to scan the “Made in …” labels to see if I could find one not manufactured in China. No luck. […]
Expats: A secret weapon waiting to be discovered
Planet Canada: How Our Expats Are Shaping the Future John Stackhouse Penguin Random House Canada, 2020 351 pages Hardcover: $35 eBook: $16.99 Audiobook download: $32 At any given time, approximately 2.8 million Canadian citizens live abroad. Many are engaged in innovative — and lucrative — work. They’ve led some of the world’s great academic institutions, […]
A trio of top players: MBS, Pelosi and Trump
MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman Ben Hubbard Tim Duggan Books, Random House, 2020 384 pages Hardcover: $36.63 Kindle: $17 At one point in early adulthood, Mohammed bin Salman, now the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, coveted land from a man who would not sell it, so he demanded that the cleric […]
On succeeding — and compromising — in Putin’s Russia
Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia By Joshua Yaffa January 2020 Tim Duggan Books, Penguin Random House 368 pages Kindle $17 Hardcover: $36.63 Paperback: $16.55 In 1999, Heda Saratova and her young child huddled, terrified, in their apartment in Grozny, Chechnya, as Russian troops battered the capital of the rebellious republic. […]
Obama’s and Trump’s champions at the United Nations
With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace By Nikki Haley 272 pages St. Martin’s Press, 2019 Hardcover: $15 Paperback: $18 Kindle: $14.10 Growing up, Nikki Haley and Samantha Power were each the odd girl out. As a child, Haley, the daughter of Indian Sikh immigrants to the United States, was constantly told […]
Ebola: “A true monster”
Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come By Richard Preston Random House, New York 369 pages Hardcover: $36, eBook $17, audio download $34, Kindle $15 In December 2013, on a tiny patch of land along the border of three African nations — […]
Chernobyl’s untold story
Midnight at Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster By Adam Higginbotham 561 pages Simon & Schuster, 2019 eBook $14.99 Hardcover: $29.95 Paperback: $18.00 Audio download $23.99 On the night of April 26, 1986, a young engineer, Leonid Toptunov, working in the control room of Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear […]
‘Love letter’ to Canada prefers passion over policy
Bruce and Vicki Heyman’s The Art of Diplomacy (Simon and Schuster, 2019, 266 pages, $32) is a syrupy fan letter to Canada — a collection of clichés about our weather, our pronunciation, Tim Hortons and Sourtoe cocktails. About the only thing missing is an ode to the BeaverTail. Still, Canada these days needs to welcome […]
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