Book Reviews

When I was in elementary school, there was a club. This ominous club met on the lawn of L.O. Jacob Elementary School, under an oak tree that resembled a bear den. They were the Geek Club. Roll call: Gable. Beres. Midthun. Greenhoe. Lamers. Geslin. My crew (Josh, Paul, Matt and […]

Has there ever been a more dynamic and wiser mentor than Master Splinter of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? The ninjutsu-trained Turtles knew it, as did Shredder, Krang, and possibly every vigilante from Dimension X. But what made him so sublime? His dry humour? His cultured engagement with the immortal […]

Mentors are very special. There is something implicit in their mission. That is: Don’t simply create more followers nor more carbon copies. In the words of the late Gordon Tootoosis’ character Cecil Delaronde from Blackstone, “Leadership is not ascent to power. It is submission to service.” Over the years, some very […]

There is an episode (“A Game of Pool” from 1961) of the original Twilight Zone that has stuck with me for decades. The plot, poetic. Core message, timeless. A pool player is obsessed with proving himself as the greatest player who ever played the game. The only hurdle is that […]

Often, the unstated, the abstract and the silent are just as impactful as the stated, the clear and the articulated. Nilofer Merchant explores this sentiment in her 2026 book Our Best Work: Break Free from the 24 Invisible Norms That Limit Us. This may have a bit more length and […]

When leaders and philosophers travelled to Delphi to seek guidance from the Oracle at the Temple of Apollo, they would regularly see three stylized inscriptions that welcomed all who approached from near and far. “Know Thyself.” “Nothing in Excess.” “Surety Brings Ruin.” Individually and together, they express coherent ethical visions […]

In 2024, historian and essayist Christine Rosen (who has written at great length about ethics and consequences of technological innovation) wrestled with a simple question: “What happens to human life when more and more is experienced by means of screens and less and less is experienced directly?” In her book The […]

It is important that I begin this review with a miigwech, a thank you, and a merci—specifically, to those who contribute their time and focus to civic life in our town of Fort Frances. I suspect those who carry the responsibilities of mayoral and council roles in noble ways may […]

What do Thanksgiving dinner, a social media group for fans of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a comic book convention in Vancouver, a PTA meeting and a liquidation sale at Build-a-Bear Workshop have in common? Discussing politics can make each descend into something between an ECW cage match and a […]

Creativity does not cease to be at the end of an artist’s brush, nor is it reserved solely for artists. If you are a human being, you are creative in impressive and at times overlooked ways. The problem is not the absence of creative impulse or talent, but an often-narrow […]

As the twisting kaleidoscope that moves us all in turn, this week’s book review sits at the intersection of a meaningful conversation, a music column and an anniversary. It feels wonderfully timely and appropriate to allow them to orbit one another in these pages. A recent conversation with a friend […]

To say we are living in interesting times feels like an understatement—one that would make Del Griffith (the lovable, overly talkative shower curtain ring salesman in the 1987 comedy Planes, Trains & Automobiles) nod in agreement. To the south, political noise echoes and bleeds into markets. Globally, trade relationships strain […]