NEWS

Although the age of newspaper dominance has passed, the fall season brings a biography and two posthumous memoirs of newspapermen: one man’s life was completely entwined with the Toronto Star, another was a publisher chased into exile in Canada, and the third was the dynamic but troubled creator of Canada’s national newspaper.

The Burden of Exile: A Banned Journalist’s Flight from Dictatorship
Aaron Berhane
Dundurn Press, Oct.

Aaron Berhane founded Setit, the first independent newspaper in Eritrea, and when he fell afoul of the police state, he was pursued across Africa before gaining refuge in Canada. His memoir encompasses the dangers facing independent journalism in authoritarian regimes, geopolitics, and the challenges of starting a new life on the other side of the world. –Attila Berki

Big Men Fear Me
Mark Bourrie
Biblioasis, Oct.

In his new biography, RBC Taylor Prize–winning author Mark Bourrie revives the life of George McCullagh – a charismatic high-school dropout, a self-made millionaire, the creator and owner of the Globe and Mail, and a man with great political potential – whose fall in the mid-20th century would be as steep as his rise to prominence. –AB

Above the Fold: A Personal History of the Toronto Star
John Honderich
Signal/PRHC, Nov.

The lives of John Honderich and his father, Beland – publishers, editors, and family owners of the Toronto Star – were intrinsically tied to the newspaper and its progressive principles. Both a personal memoir and a history, Above the Fold provides insight not just into the workings of one paper but also the forces impacting newspapers since the middle of the 20th century. –AB

FOOD AND DRINK

What We Talk About When We Talk About Dumplings
John Lorinc, ed. and Meegan Lim, ill.
Coach House Books, Oct.

We can’t think of a more delicious read to usher in the colder days and nights than this trove of two dozen personalities dishing about their fave stuffed treats. Toronto journalist and urbanist John Lorinc collects stories, histories, family traditions (and even some recipes from food historians, chefs, and other prominent Canadians) about perhaps the most universal food phenomenon the world over: the dumpling! –Andrew Woodrow-Butcher

Cocktails, A Still Life: 60 Spirited Paintings & Recipes
Christine Sismondo and James Waller; Todd M. Casey, ill.
Running Press/Hachette, Aug.

A unique addition to anyone’s cocktail library, Christine Sismondo and James Waller’s recipes – which include all your favourite drinks alongside some newer creations – are each paired with a contemporary still life in oils by painter Todd M. Casey. –AWB

The Anime Chef Cookbook: 75 Iconic Dishes from Your Favorite Anime
Nadine Estero
Rock Point/Quarto Group, Sept.

Anime moves into the three-dimensional kitchen with this collection of recipes for food portrayed in the world of manga – from traditional Japanese favourites to inventive recreations of dishes referenced in popular series – illustrated with anime-style art. –AB

Dinner on Mars: The Technologies That Will Feed the Red Planet and Transform Agriculture on Earth
Lenore Newman and Evan D.G. Fraser
ECW Press, Oct.

Determining how to feed Martians may sound at first blush like an academic exercise, but in trying to answer how to make dinner on Mars, authors and researchers Lenore Newman and Evan D. G. Fraser explore ways of sustainably feeding humans on Earth, too. –Cassandra Drudi

A Bartender’s Guide to the World: Cocktails and Stories from 75 Places
Lauren Mote and James O. Fraioli
Appetite by Random House/PRHC, Oct.

Bartender Lauren Mote and food author James O. Fraioli team up for this spirited circumnavigation of the world of cocktails. Arranged by base ingredient and designed to help you build your own international liquor cabinet, this guide also includes a solid selection of non-alcoholic options. –AWB

The Lemon Apron Cookbook: Seasonal Recipes for the Curious Home Cook
Jennifer Emilson
Appetite by Random House/PRHC, Nov.

Organized by season and influenced by cuisines around the world, the first cookbook by The Lemon Apron blogger Jennifer Emilson is a collection of rustic recipes for home cooking that are accompanied by the characteristically beautiful photography found on the blog. –AB

The Art of Raw Desserts: 50 Standout Recipes for Plant-Based Cakes, Pastries, Pies, Cookies and More
Crystal Bonnet
Page Street Publishing/UTP, Dec.

Vancouver-based raw vegan chef Crystal Bonnet adapts classic recipes into plant-based sweet treats using the methods and conventions of the raw kitchen. –AB

TELLING IT LIKE IT WAS: MEMOIRS FROM NOTABLE CANADIANS

 Is There Bacon in Heaven?
Ali Hassan
Simon & Schuster, Sept.

Comedian, actor, and Canada Reads host Ali Hassan shares his lifelong journey to become a “cultural Muslim” in this debut memoir based on his stand-up comedy. –CD

No Bootstraps When You’re Barefoot: My Rise from a Jamaican Plantation Shack to the Boardrooms of Bay Street
Wes Hall
Random House Canada/PRHC, Oct.

BlackNorth founder and Dragon’s Den investor Wes Hall traces his life from his early childhood in his grandmother’s zinc-roofed shack in Jamaica to his move to Canada at 16, and on to his rise from mailroom clerk to executive. –CD

The Mother of All Degrassi
Linda Schuyler
ECW Press, Nov.

Degrassi co-creator Linda Schuyler tells her story of the grit and determination she needed to make it as a female entrepreneur in the Canadian TV industry in the 1980s – and includes behind-the-scenes stories for Degrassi fans. –CD