Book Shop

Reviewed by Lucy White: Steve Davis has a bold and timely proposition for his readers: We can channel our outrage about persistent systemic inequities and injustices into practical activism to improve the world we live in. In Undercurrents: Channeling Outrage to Spark Practical Activism, Davis lays out a process for doing just that.

Reviewed by Gail Picco: In What Bears Teach Us, Sarah Elmeligi explains where bears live, how they live, how they learn and what brings them pleasure (scratching is involved). “Every moment of every day, a bear makes a decision based on its learning or the present circumstances and its estimation of what may happen next.” Elmeligi’s encounters with individual bears tell us more than we can imagine we might know, and after reading the book and lingering over its photos, we do learn a lot, about ourselves and about bears—all without leaving the couch.  She’s generous and lays down the framework of a true co-existence between humans and our animal cousins.

Reviewed by Ginelle Skerritt: The middle class is shrinking. Jobs are disappearing. The gap between the wealthy and the poor is widening. Fewer and fewer people control and possess a higher percentage of the available wealth.  After reading When More is not Better by top ranked economist, Roger Martin, I understand the root causes of these phenomena from a new perspective. It isn’t all about greed spiraling out of control as I had imagined even though, undeniably, greed has played a significant role.

Reviewed by Gail Picco: “Takaya’s life was very odd for a wolf,” writes Carl Safina in his forward to Takaya: Lone Wolf. “Wolves are very social. They usually live in families, just as we humans do. Takaya came, alone, to a small island without food or reliable fresh water. Yet this unusual, mysterious, different wolf found his way to survive, for years.”

Reviewed by Gail Picco: But what Glaude today—and Baldwin in his time—both understand is that the commitment to take down the structures of racism cannot overestimate the generosity of white people and their willingness to change white structures that benefit them every day of their lives.  It will take sheer numbers of Black Americans, Indigenous Americans, people of colour, and coalitions with supporters to gain the political power to make the necessary gains.

Reviewed by Krishan Mehta: In Collecting Courage fourteen Black writers – charity and fundraising leaders from across Canada and the United States – come together to speak truth to power. Or perhaps better yet, to reveal a powerful truth.  [It] is the first and only book that is brave enough to expose the poison that pervades our institutions, corrupts the corridors of power, fuels hate amongst its people, and allows injustice to flourish. But that’s not its endgame. Each writer, by laying bare their pain, also expresses a special resilience through which they find love for oneself and community, create a space for healing, and invite everyone to rebuild a sector that sees its own truth and potential.

Reviewed by Wanda Deschamps: “That’s a girl who has short hair and likes sports” explained Lisa Selin Davis’s daughter as she made the announcement of her identity to her mother by relaying this explanation from her grade one classmate. Selin Davis was curious about her daughter’s description yet could have left it there. The seeds, however, for Selin Davis’s non-fiction contribution – Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to Be Different – released this August had been planted.

Reviewed by Roger Ali: Covid-19 is a hot topic, and living through a pandemic, during unprecedented times, has heightened our awareness and growing concerns about the virus, when it will end and what worse threats may come next. Debora MacKenzie, an award winning veteran journalist, draws our attention to what warnings were ignored, outlining a compelling history of significant recent outbreaks and how we can be better prepared for the next one.

Reviewed by Wanda Deschamps: In this, her first book, released in October, she asserts that Big Tech's empathy problem is largely because its leaders are ethically vacuous at a time when setting an example from the top is desperately needed.

Reviewed by Wanda Deschamps: Are there any positives to the BS story? Yes. The fact we are talking about it is a good thing. Beyond that, the book’s concluding chapter Refuting Bullshit is a step-by-step guide on how to challenge BS, with instructions on how to do it nicely. “Be charitable. Admit fault. Be clear and Be pertinent are some of the suggestions.”

Reviewed by Gail Picco: Palmieri’s business is politics and that’s the world she describes. At 208 pages, it’s almost a pocket size book and a breezy read, written by a political insider. Given the pandemic, the clarion call from Black Lives Matter, and the apparent disintegration of our powerhouse neighbour to the south—and the very environment in which Palmieri is working—it is advisable for us to keep on top of what she lays out in She Proclaims.

Reviewed by Ginelle Skerritt: As a Black woman, the title of this book, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind Body and Spirit, sparked intrigue, relief, hope and strangely, joy.  It is the joy of anticipating the appearance of an oasis in the desert; the joy of hoping that at long last, the deeply personal and painful truths that have been hiding inside, will be exposed and resolved. In this case, it is revealing the simple truth that Black folks are tired.

Reviewed by Wanda Deschamps: Given our collective heightened sense of awareness for self-improvement during the 2020 pandemic, The Conscious Creative is timely. Author Kelly Small draws from their years of experience as a creative director in advertising to build an argument that the creative industry is long overdue for an ethical detox. This guide of practical and actionable steps, however, has application well beyond current or formerly employed creative professionals.

Reviewed by Gail Picco: From the oil-soaked Rockefeller fortune generated by “Standard Oil, infamous for its monopolistic practices” to the opioid-peddling, museum-naming Sackler Family, the history of philanthropy from the turn of the twentieth century is, Cunningham reports, at least in part a history of the growth of the philanthropic foundations.

Reviewed by Sharon Broughton: As author Michael Prosserman reveals his story of creating the hip-hop-inspired UNITY charity, impacting more than a quarter-million young people across Canada, leading a non-profit from spark to succession captures the essence of this remarkable book. It's a story of his transition from the role of founder and executive director to new leadership.

Reviewed by Sharon Broughton: Soul Full of Coal Dust is a riveting account that is part memoir, part medical and legal thriller, part underdog takes on the Goliath of systemic injustice.  With devastating clarity, it exposes the corruption, fraud, and medical, legal, and corporate malpractice that has denied miners and their families the life support and medical care that is their due.

Reviewed by Evan Adamson "A hard but necessary read No Justice in the Shadows by NYU law professor Alina Das uses perusal stories to encourage empathy while also stressing the fundamental rights for immigrants under American constitutional law."

Reviewed June 9 2020 by Wanda Deschamps: "It is perplexing that the world still suffers from such a limited understanding of disability.

Reviewed June 2 2020 by Maryann Kerr: "If you have suffered burnout you will find some solace wisdom and practical advice on how to avoid it from this sysmpathetic title by Legaullt"

Reviewed May 4 2020 by Evan Adamson: "The Guy Fawkes masks made popular by V for Vendetta are used as a tool to obfuscate the identity of the hacker and a symbol of the unity of the collective."

ReviewedApril 28 2020 by Wanda Deschamps: "By publishing her memoir Sarah sets herself apart within the autistic community and its allies. And a voice she is--biting humorous insightful and candid. She bills her book as an 'anti-instruction guide.'"

Reviewed April 20 2020 by Mal Warwick: "Everyone who follows politics in the United States is aware that the American system is rigged. In their presidential campaigns ... Robert Reich wants to explain to all of us how things have gotten so far out of kilter. And that’s the timely task he’s taken up in his latest book."

Reviewed April 8 2020 by Adya Afanou: "In this war public transit is losing and in turn we all are. But the issue goes beyond the simplistic ‘bus and train vs car’ or ‘privileged vs under-privileged’ rhetoric and goes to the heart of a debate about transportation.”

Reviewed March 18 2020 by Diane Hill: "... an overview of political and social problems in the U.S: including the growing anti-science movement the false safety of gated communities class and race issues within a broken mental health system and more.

Reviewed March 6 2020 by Joanne Linka: "Maya Goodfellow explores how racism was woven into British society and how there is a collective denial about the bloodiness of its empire .”

Reviewed February 26 2020 by Gail Picco: "US TV personality Ed Gordon is conductor for this impressive choir a book started in 2012 just after Treyvon Martin had been killed by a "neighbourhood watchman." He noted when he started the book Michael Brown Laquan McDonald and Sandra Bland were still alive.."

Reviewed April 15 2020 by Evan Adamson: "Emotive writing and beautiful imagery aside if you know anyone who has a lack of empathy for Indigenous communities please ask them to read this book."

Reviewed September 2 2020 by Sharon Broughton "For nonprofit leaders Unleashed offers a compelling blueprint for successful leadership in a methodical way

Reviewed June 19 2020 by Gail Picco. "Ellison takes Juneteenth's name from the day when news of the end of the Civil War finally reached Galveston Texas via arrival of the Union Army in 1865"

Reviewed May 12 2020 by Sharon Broughton: "This book would be a great tool to help leaders prevent prepare for respond to manage and bounce back from a crisis. Consider it as a gift for your senior team and workshop some of the ideas with your staff group ... to help build confidence ."

Reviewed May 8 2020 by Gail Picco: "Make no mistake, the Joan of Arc of cable news, the one challenger to Fox’s top spot is Rachel Maddow, a lesbian woman whose only nod to being on a prime time television is a  swish of eye shadow, a dot of lip gloss, a sweep of mascara and a “$20 jacket” over her usual t-shirt and jeans."

Review January 14 2020 by Gail Picco : "For charities trying to make effective choices around social media the information in this book allows them to see that work through the framework of democracy and rights as opposed to likes and re-tweets .."

Reviewed April 24 2020 by Roger Ali: "By painting a picture of a messy desk piled with paper unopened letters unread books Kondo starts with what many of us can relate to—a mad search for a file and being unable to find it."

Reviewed January 28 2020 by Gail Picco: "Heath wants to convince us we 'should shift more of our energies ‘upstream’: .And how we can—and we should—stop dealing with the symptoms of problems again and again and start fixing them' in a systemic way..............."

Reviewed March 29 2020 Nicole Salmon: '[Kendall] provides a prescriptive call to action on how feminism can shift from focusing exclusively on a narrow list of issues where the benefits largely accrue to white women..."

Reviewed March 6 2020 by Gail Picco: "Echo Desjardin is no ordinary 13-year-old Métis girl. She is a time traveller. And though Echo’s time travel doesn’t lighten her load she does get a front row seat in her own history..."

Reviewed February 26 2020 by Gail Picco: "Desmond Coles' The Skin We're in is a must-read for anyone interested in ... how racism permeates our political and social structures from former Toronto Star columnist."

Reviewed February 26 2020 by Gail Picco: "Tessa McWatt’s story is a singular tour through the lives of generations of men and women who contributed to McWatt’s racial identity. She calls her background “the forced intimacy of four continents of which I was the symbolic child the miscarriage of colonialism.”

Reviewed May 1 2020 by Katherine Verhagen Rodis "hildren and youth with multiple adverse childhood experiences
like physical or emotional neglect. She sees young people at their most vulnerable and shares their stories as well as her lived experience...................."