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By Sheila White
Sheila White, a talented musician, community champion, skilled politico, environmentalist and lay chaplain, now adds author to her impressive list of accomplishments with The Letters: Postmark Prejudice in Black and White, a riveting story about love and social justice.
Vivian Keeler is an intelligent, attractive and determined white woman from a traditional Nova Scotia family who risks it all by falling in love with a Black man. Billy White is a charismatic and gifted member of a prominent Black family; he’s the brother of celebrated classical singer Portia White and the son of a renowned Black minister who garnered fame as an officer during the First World War. Vivian and Billy meet at a lunch counter in Halifax. During the next several months their casual friendship blossoms into romance. But the courtship that follows unleashes a torrent of racist rants that expose the pervasive bigotry of the late 1940s. The Letters: Postmark Prejudice in Black and White chronicles a passion that transcends deeply rooted taboos and sparks an orchestrated campaign to persuade Vivian “not to marry outside her race.” As the pressure mounts, Vivian and Billy find strength in their shared affection. But will it be enough to overcome their own doubts about the viability of a future together?
By William Boardman
American Exceptionalism permeates American culture. Most Americans were taught to believe in American superiority long before they were able to think for themselves. “America is the greatest country in the world” is an article of faith. Of course, it can’t be proved or even defined. What, indeed, is the measure of greatness for a country? Do genocide, slavery, racism, imperialism and endemic poverty count? If the United States is really the greatest country in the world, what does that say about the world?
In Exceptional: American Exceptionalism Takes Its Toll, author William Boardman examines forms of American denial that shape a country where there is little integrity in public discourse, truth is optional and society is out of rational control.
The book is a anthology of Boardman’s best essays since 2012, mostly first published online at Reader Supported News. Each piece is a snapshot in time, when the author was reacting to the moment, whether that was an act of voter suppression, the start of an aggressive war, the police killing of another unarmed black person, or the failed humanity of so many of America’s “leaders.”
In Exceptional: American Exceptionalism Takes Its Toll, author William Boardman examines forms of American denial that shape a country where there is little integrity in public discourse, truth is optional and society is out of rational control.
The book is a anthology of Boardman’s best essays since 2012, mostly first published online at Reader Supported News. Each piece is a snapshot in time, when the author was reacting to the moment, whether that was an act of voter suppression, the start of an aggressive war, the police killing of another unarmed black person, or the failed humanity of so many of America’s “leaders.”
By Howard Moscoe
"My grandfather was a horse thief, my grandmother a bootlegger, my father a bookmaker and my brother a scalper; so there was nothing left for me but politics."
Thus begins the Call Me Pisher: A Madcap Romp Through City Hall, a hilarious, informative and undoubtedly (to some) maddening account of former City Councillor Howard Moscoe’s 32 years in public office.
Moscoe used the tradecraft of all those questionable vocations to cajole, manipulate and beguile his council colleagues, as he fought to improve the quality of life in his ward and throughout the city.
And you will discover why the name Moscoe elicited widely varying, and sometimes extreme, reactions. Former Mayor Mel Lastman derided Moscoe as “the best excuse for birth control I know.” And Toronto Star columnist Royson James offered this assessment: “Moscoe is no angel. He is a blustery, bombastic, hard-nosed advocate for the disabled, the downtrodden, and anyone else that comes up against the wall of bureaucracy that is often erected at city hall. His advocacy often brings him into conflict with the bureaucrats who really run the city. What the councillor lacks in finesse he makes up in integrity.”
Thus begins the Call Me Pisher: A Madcap Romp Through City Hall, a hilarious, informative and undoubtedly (to some) maddening account of former City Councillor Howard Moscoe’s 32 years in public office.
Moscoe used the tradecraft of all those questionable vocations to cajole, manipulate and beguile his council colleagues, as he fought to improve the quality of life in his ward and throughout the city.
And you will discover why the name Moscoe elicited widely varying, and sometimes extreme, reactions. Former Mayor Mel Lastman derided Moscoe as “the best excuse for birth control I know.” And Toronto Star columnist Royson James offered this assessment: “Moscoe is no angel. He is a blustery, bombastic, hard-nosed advocate for the disabled, the downtrodden, and anyone else that comes up against the wall of bureaucracy that is often erected at city hall. His advocacy often brings him into conflict with the bureaucrats who really run the city. What the councillor lacks in finesse he makes up in integrity.”