Muskoka, the University of Western Ontario, Ottawa, New York, Colombia, Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Peru, Cuba, Israel, Belgium, South Africa, Australia –the place-names tell the story of an amazing career. Then there are the people involved –Trudeau, Clark, and Chrétien, Kissinger, Castro, Rabin, Walesa, Havel, Mandela and dozens of others. Not to mention the moments of high drama: when young Jim Bartleman becomes Ottawa’s security expert on terrorism during the FLQ crisis in 1970; or when he leads the movement to bring countries like Poland and Ukraine into NATO and the West. But this is also a light-hearted look at what our diplomats actually do and is full of funny stories: so watch young Jim attend a drunken party with Trudeau; compete with Mother Teresa for Bangladesh babies; or sweep his Belgian bride off her feet to the altar. Bartleman also writes candidly about falling prey to depression, and about his concern, as a native Canadian, to see aboriginal peoples well treated. In summary, a richly varied career, as the only Canadian diplomat to serve on all six continents, well told by a remarkable character. *** On Six Continents is a Douglas Gibson Book.

On Six Continents: Life in Canada's Foreign Service 1966-2002

Bartleman, James K.

History

Douglas Gibson Books

On Six Continents: A Life In Canada's Foreign Service, 1966-2002

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

For four years, James Bartleman mixed with all the biggest names – Clinton, Blair, Yeltsin, Mitterrand, Castro, Kohl, Chirac, and on and on, as Chrétien’s Henry Kissinger figure. He was involved in deadly serious crisis management, accompanying Chrétien to all the world’s hot spots – dodging bullets in Sarajevo, and trying to avoid war in the Spanish trawler incident. Not to mention dealing with Premier Li of China on an official visit encountering protestors in Montreal and shouting, “I am departing immediately. Never have I and my country been so humiliated.” Which leader at the G7 Summit in Halifax passed out drunk in the hotel elevator? What did Jean Chrétien do to set White House aides threatening, “the next time there’s a referendum, we will support the separatists”? And why did Fidel Castro grab our author, shaking him and snarling, “I hope you are satisfied, Bartleman”? It’s all in this lively book. Every major world crisis of these years is represented here, and every region of the world. You’ll be amazed at how widely Chrétien and Bartleman travelled and how much top-level action they experienced. Canadian foreign policy has never seemed so exciting. Or so funny (as when the angry Japanese prime minister’s Ottawa visit was marred by a health problem officially described as “soft poo”). A candid, witty, eye-opening book about foreign affairs at the top.

Rollercoaster: My Hectic Years as Jean Chretien's Diplomatic Advisor, 1994-1998

Leaders & Notable People

A warm, at times hilarious, yet dark childhood memoir from a bestselling author. This memoir recalls the boyhood years of Ontario’s future lieutenant-governor, living in a dilapidated old house complete with outdoor toilet and coal oil-lamp lighting. Behind the outrageous stories, larger-than life-characters, and descriptions of the mores of a small village in the heart of Ontario’s cottage country are flashes of insight from the perspective of a child that recall the great classic Who has Seen the Windby W.O. Mitchell. But why "a different Muskoka?" Because the boy was a half-breed kid. Visits to his mother’s reserve showed him that he was caught between two worlds. His mother’s fight with depression flowed from that dilemma. His father — the book’s main character — was a lovable, white, working class, happy-go-lucky guy who never had any money but who made the best home brew in the village — and his specialty was raisin wine. Like that raisin wine, this unusual book goes down easily and has a kick to it.

Raisin Wine: A Boyhood in a Different Muskoka

Possibly the greatest novel published in Canada in 2004 — the first in a historic series. It’s as if Dickens or Balzac — or Rohinton Mistry — had decided to write the book that summed up life in east-end Montreal. This is the first volume of a quartet that has taken Quebec by storm, selling over forty-five thousand copies. On the very first page, we meet Charles Thibodeau being born. It’s 1966 and the rest of Montreal is more excited by the fact that a new subway system is opening, but his birth is a big event for Charles’s parents and for their working-class neighbours. Sadly, Charles’s mother dies when he is four, her funeral interrupted by War Measures Act soldiers on the streets. Soon young Charles, like a younger Huck Finn, is fending for himself. While he adopts a stray dog, Boff, in turn he is taken away from his drunken, violent father and becomes part of the Fafard family nearby. His adventures follow thick and fast — at school, where he avoids becoming a teacher’s pet, despite being smart, in a part-time job where he encounters a pederast, and at summer camp, where he establishes himself as a rebel. By the end of the book, he has fully earned his title, Charles the Bold, leaving us eager to follow his further adventures. But the real hero of this book is Montreal, and its scores of memorable, lively characters who leap off the page. Like Gabrielle Roy in The Tin Flute, Yves Beauchemin has given us an unforgettable portrait of life in the francophone east end — with more to come in this ambitious and richly rewarding saga.

Charles the Bold: Translated By Wayne Grady

Beauchemin, Yves

Literature & Fiction

Possibly the greatest novel published in Canada in 2004 — the first in a historic series. It’s as if Dickens or Balzac — or Rohinton Mistry — had decided to write the book that summed up life in east-end Montreal. This is the first volume of a quartet that has taken Quebec by storm, selling over forty-five thousand copies. On the very first page, we meet Charles Thibodeau being born. It’s 1966 and the rest of Montreal is more excited by the fact that a new subway system is opening, but his birth is a big event for Charles’s parents and for their working-class neighbours. Sadly, Charles’s mother dies when he is four, her funeral interrupted by War Measures Act soldiers on the streets. Soon young Charles, like a younger Huck Finn, is fending for himself. While he adopts a stray dog, Boff, in turn he is taken away from his drunken, violent father and becomes part of the Fafard family nearby. His adventures follow thick and fast — at school, where he avoids becoming a teacher’s pet, despite being smart, in a part-time job where he encounters a pederast, and at summer camp, where he establishes himself as a rebel. By the end of the book, he has fully earned his title, Charles the Bold, leaving us eager to follow his further adventures. But the real hero of this book is Montreal, and its scores of memorable, lively characters who leap off the page. Like Gabrielle Roy in The Tin Flute, Yves Beauchemin has given us an unforgettable portrait of life in the francophone east end — with more to come in this ambitious and richly rewarding saga. From the Hardcover edition.

Charles the Bold

The second novel in the highly acclaimed series Charles the Bold, about a young man growing up in east-end Montreal. “Montreal! You’re going to be hearing from me! I’m going to make your ears ring!” These are the last words in this hypnotically interesting saga that follow the adventurous life of our bold hero, Charles Thibodeau. This book takes us through his high school years, and is called The Years of Fire for three reasons. First, he discovers girls, and we follow his fumbling but enthusiastic adventures with them. Second, he becomes fired up about politics (“Every so often he would raise his right hand and stare at it in amazement. Just think, it has just shaken the hand of René Lévesque!”) and the first Quebec referendum plays a major role in this book. Above all, fire changes his life when his estranged father threatens his stepfather’s store with arson, and Charles gets involved in dealing drugs to pay him off. How he escapes from his contacts with the pool-hall underworld, with the help of his friends, and emerges as an ambitious young writer makes for involving and fascinating reading, provided by a superb storyteller.

The Years of Fire: Charles the Bold, Volume 2

The second novel in the highly acclaimed series Charles the Bold, about a young man growing up in east-end Montreal. “Montreal! You’re going to be hearing from me! I’m going to make your ears ring!” These are the last words in this hypnotically interesting saga that follow the adventurous life of our bold hero, Charles Thibodeau. This book takes us through his high school years, and is called The Years of Fire for three reasons. First, he discovers girls, and we follow his fumbling but enthusiastic adventures with them. Second, he becomes fired up about politics (“Every so often he would raise his right hand and stare at it in amazement. Just think, it has just shaken the hand of René Lévesque!”) and the first Quebec referendum plays a major role in this book. Above all, fire changes his life when his estranged father threatens his stepfather’s store with arson, and Charles gets involved in dealing drugs to pay him off. How he escapes from his contacts with the pool-hall underworld, with the help of his friends, and emerges as an ambitious young writer makes for involving and fascinating reading, provided by a superb storyteller. From the Hardcover edition.

A witty round-up of writers' habits that includes all the big names, such as Dickens, Flaubert, Tolstoy, Hemingway At public events readers always ask writers how they write. The process fascinates them. Now they have a very witty book that ranges around the world and throughout history to answer their questions. All the great writers are here — Dickens, dashing off his work; Henry James dictating it; Flaubert shouting each word aloud in the garden; Hemingway at work in cafés with his pencil. But pencil or pen, trusty typewriter or computer, they all have their advocates. Not to mention the writers who can only keep the words flowing by writing naked, or while walking or listening to music — and generally obeying the most bizarre superstitions. On Shakespeare’s works: “Fantastic. And it was all done with a feather!” — Sam Goldwyn “I write nude, seated on a thick towel, and perhaps with a second towel around me.” — Paul West “I’ve never heard of anyone getting plumber’s block, or traffic cop’s block.” — Allan Gurganus “I’m a drinker with a writing problem.” — Brendan Behan

Page Fright: Foibles and Fetishes of Famous Writers

BRUCE, Harry

Arts & Literature

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Books by Douglas Gibson Books

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Douglas Gibson Books publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

On Six Continents: Life in Canada's Foreign Service 1966-2002

On Six Continents: A Life In Canada's Foreign Service, 1966-2002

Rollercoaster: My Hectic Years as Jean Chretien's Diplomatic Advisor, 1994-1998

Rollercoaster: My Hectic Years as Jean Chretien's Diplomatic Advisor, 1994-1998

Raisin Wine: A Boyhood in a Different Muskoka

Charles the Bold: Translated By Wayne Grady

Charles the Bold

The Years of Fire: Charles the Bold, Volume 2

The Years of Fire: Charles the Bold, Volume 2

Page Fright: Foibles and Fetishes of Famous Writers