Non-Fiction Books
Lewis Cole, a resident of tourist town Tyler Beach, New Hampshire, turns sleuth when prominent community members are marked for death and a beautiful girl is found hanged.
The Class of '75 is a lively portrait of a group of Canadians who are in their prime and moving into positions of influence. Jack Batten found twenty-seven members of the class that graduated in 1975 and interviewed them to find out what they have been up to since, and what the University of Toronto Law School taught them.
Book commerates the 100th anniversary of the Rosedale Golf Club of Toronto, Ontario Canada
Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs are once again wearing their colours with pride. It?s been 36 years since the Stanley Cup was won by Toronto, but Leafs fans will agree that the past decade has seen their team come agonizingly close to the Cup finals. Indeed they are almost there again! The new edition of this bestseller is filled with memories of great Leafs teams through the ?90s, into the new millenium including their strong showing this season. The Leafs includes all new colour photographs complementing the sometimes amusing, sometimes dramatic and often nostalgic stories from within the inner sanctums of Maple Leaf Gardens and the Air Canada Centre. Die-hard fans won?t be able to put it down and new fans will find no better source for learning about this legendary team.
Professional basketball is a very recent phenomenon in Canada and the new NBA franchise in Toronto brought new players into the field of high-stakes professional sport – the group headed by 32-year-old John Bitove, Jr., and its team, the Raptors. A wide variety of problems have dogged Bitove, but the Raptors, backed by an impressive promotional effort and starring Rookie of the Year, Damon Stoudamire, captured the imagination of fans and generated massive interest and excitement. By season end, the Raptors’ attendance records placed them third in the NBA, even though the championship went elsewhere. Jack Batten spent the year with the Raptors to produce a portrait of the inaugural year of this Canadian major-league franchise. He covers the bid process, the naming of the team, the fuss over the team’s new arena (still to be built), the appointment of Isiah Thomas as general manager and Brendan Malone as coach, and the gathering of the first group of players. But the main focus is the exciting 1995-96 season, and Batten highlights some of the most important and thrilling games, including the monumental win over Chicago before the largest crowd to ever see a basketball game in Canada. He profiles the players, the coach, and the many people behind the scenes who are crucial in putting together the “total entertainment package” that is professional basketball. And he delivers the inside scoop on the struggles that led to Malone’s end-of-season firing. Hoopla! makes for fascinating reading for basketball fans and anyone curious about this hugely successful sport.
No one who has heard and read about the murder trial of O.J. Simpson can fail to be aware of the importance of forensic evidence in the case. Particularly prominent – and controversial – has been the issue of DNA, the latest in the arsenal of scientific weapons in the battle against crime. But, although forensic science has been around since the days of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, even avid readers of mystery stories and true-crime narratives are usually unclear about the methods and skills employed by the forensic scientist. In addition, as those scientists become more ingenious, as the instruments they use grow more sophisticated, the means they come up with to track the perpetrators of crime begin to approach the kind of wonders found in science fiction. Now Jack Batten, well-known for his popular books about the law, has set out to shed light on DNA and other pieces of magic that are regularly worked by scientists and their allies in the forensic field – both at the scenes of crimes and, later, in the laboratories. The route he takes to investigate each piece of forensic science is by way of a particular Canadian trial, and his guides on the route are the detectives, the prosecutors and defence attorneys, and the scientists who actually worked on the cases. He considers the following: Ink analysis , which is used to examine two suspect lines in a police detective’s notebook; footprint casting and identification , which eventually convicts two armed robbers, even though the footprint was left in snow; stomach-content analysis , the controversial method by which time of death was estimated in the Steven Truscott case; forensic accounting , which finally traced and recovered money defrauded from the government of Trinidad, years after it was considered lost; and the analysis of blood, hair, semen, and DNA , which led to Johnny Terceira’s conviction for the murder of Andrea Atkinson. In an epilogue, he looks at recent advances in DNA analysis, as Guy Paul Morin is declared innocent of the murder of Christine Jessop. In his immensely readable prose, he takes us along as the police and the scientists gather and analyse their evidence, as attorneys organize their cases, and as the various groups meet in court to seek out the truth.
History of a major Canadian law firm with offices across Canada. By Jack Batten 1997.
Tom Longboat was a hero. A member of the Onondaga Nation, he was born on the Six Nations reserve in Oshwegen, near Brantford, Ontario. Despite poverty, poor training, and prejudice, Longboat went on to become one of the world’s best runners. In 1907, at the height of his fame, he won the Boston Marathon and ran in the 1908 Olympic Marathon. Longboat was one of the best-known people of his day, and certainly the most prominent member of the Six Nations. Throughout his career he had to race against opponents, as well as rumors of illegal running activities. Nevertheless, he maintained his dignity, and his achievements still inspire people who understand the great pleasure of running, and running fast.
Family ties have been an enduring part of hockey history since the beginning of the NHL. Ken Dryden was asked why it is that hockey ties are so prevalent in hockey compared to other professional sports leagues. Part of it, he theorized, was the nature of the long Canadian winter that leaves kids without much else to do. Dryden also thought that hockey's rural roots may have something to do with it, "Hockey players have historically come from smaller places rather than bigger places. In a smaller place you have fewer options and it is more likely in a smaller place that if one kid from a family gets involved in hockey, other kids are going to get involved too." Hockey Dynasties is an era by era look at the proliferation of family ties in professional hockey. The book will examine why there are so many families in professional hockey, and will include tales by the players about their time at center ice playing with and against their siblings/ fathers/cousins/uncles. Hockey families included are: Ken and Dave Dryden, Wayne and Brent Gretzky, Eric and Brett Lindros, Charlie, Roy and Lionel Conacher, Bobby and Brett Hull, Maurice and Henri Richard, Pete and Frank Mahovlich, Gordie, Mark and Vic Howe, Marcel and Gilbert Dionne, Brian and Joe Mullen, Sylvain and Pierre Turgeon, Russ and Geoff Courtnall, The Sutter Brothers (Ron, Brent, Brian, Darryl, Duane, Rich), Phil and Tony Esposito, The Stastny Brothers (Peter, Anton, and Marian), Pavel and Valeri Bure, The Hunter Brothers (Dale, Mark, Dave), Lynn, Lester and Craig Patrick, Neil, Aaron and Paul Broten, Max, Doug and Reg Bentley, Bun and Bill Cook, George and Frank Boucher, Neil and Max Colville, Dennis, Bryan, Sr. and Bryan, Jr. Hextall.
The timely lessons of a timeless neighborhood. The Annex is a unique urban neighborhood of Toronto. While it now rests deep within the city, at one time -- until its annexation in the late nineteenth century -- it was a separate entity. The Annex retains a certain pride that enabled it to withstand much of the urbanization that has blighted other major cities. Today, the district is considered one of the most chic neighborhoods in a city known for its chic neighborhoods. The Annex is the illustrated story of how a nineteenth-century subdivision owned by a single land developer became the upscale, multi-ethnic, trendsetting hub for much of downtown life in Toronto. This story involved the city's wealthiest citizens and farsighted architects who gave the Annex its look, as well as the neighborhood activists who resisted changes that inevitably come with modern urban planning. This book features 128 black and white photographs of: Key homes Churches Public buildings Institutions of higher learning The district's abundant parks More recent architecture. The Annex is an inspiration for people everywhere who want to protect the distinctive character of their neighborhoods.
The colourful – and often questionable – life of one of Toronto’s leading criminal lawyers In two separate trials in Toronto courtrooms in the spring of 1962, two men were convicted of two different murders. Their names were Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin, and when they were hanged back to back on the gallows at the Don Jail, they entered into history as the last men whom Canada executed. The same criminal lawyer defended both Lucas and Turpin at their dramatic trials. His name was Ross MacKay, just thirty years old and appearing in his first two murder cases. Devastated by the hangings, driven to alcoholism, he endured disbarment, homelessness, and a drug charge of his own before he rallied to become a criminal lawyer of the top rank in both trial and appeal work. MacKay never looked like a man pointed toward a life of endless travail. He was movie-star handsome, intelligent, charming and funny, irresistible to women and a man's man who played cards till the sun came up – often with his clients, many of whom became friends. These attributes weren't always enough to shield him from his own flaws and from the burdens heaped on him by his criminal clients. Yet each time MacKay was knocked flat by events, he rallied. His was a story of redemption and, as told in this compelling book, it is a story that is both shocking and inspirational.
Successfully appealing Evelyn Dick's sensational murder conviction. Defending three men charged with espionage in the wake of Igor Gouzenko's defection. Financing law school on the professional football fields. These are a few examples of the experiences described in Learned Friends , a book that looks at the lives and careers of fifty distinguished Ontario advocates who practised between 1950 and 2000. All were singularly devoted to their calling and shared the characteristics of integrity, diligence, and civility. All proved themselves to be leaders of the bar in their respective communities, and their legacies have shaped the practice of litigation in Ontario. Until now, much of what we have known about these advocates, and others like them, has come to us through an oral tradition. Those who were fortunate enough to know these advocates have told stories of their successes, failures, habits, and idiosyncrasies to the next generation. But as time has passed, the need for a more durable record has become increasingly apparent. This beautifully illustrated book has been published as part of The Advocates' Society's Fortieth Anniversary celebrations, as a permanent tribute to talented advocates who are no longer actively litigating or sitting as judges. It acknowledges the significant contributions of remarkable men and women who, in pleading cases in courtrooms across our province, set the standards of excellence to which the current generation of advocates aspires. In so doing, Learned Friends promotes and records the strong and vibrant tradition of advocacy that has long existed in Ontario.
Dutiful nurse, hospital matron, courageous resistance fighter, Edith Cavell was all of these. A British citizen, the forty-eight-year-old Cavell was matron of an institute for nurses in the suburbs of Brussels at the outbreak of World War I. Dedicated to the methods of Florence Nightingale, her intelligence and ferocious sense of duty had transformed the institute into a leading training center. When the Germans captured Belgium in the fall of 1914, an organization was formed to assist British and French soldiers trapped behind German lines. Edith was asked to help and she didn’t hesitate. From that moment forward, Edith sheltered escaping soldiers in her hospital, using trickery to keep the suspicious Germans from discovering them. She helped arrange a secret route to neutral Holland and back to England at great personal risk, enabling soldiers of all ranks to slip through German lines. Using the institute as part of an elaborate Allied escape route, Edith Cavell was responsible for one thousand soldiers eventually making their way home. But Cavell’s role was discovered and a German military court put her on trial in Brussels, where she was sentenced to be executed by firing squad. On October 12, 1915, she put on her nurse’s uniform and met her fate, immediately becoming a worldwide martyr and rallying point for the British in their war against Germany. In this riveting account, author Jack Batten brings an incredibly brave woman and her turbulent times to life.
A brilliant, concise history of The War to End All Wars. In the decade leading up to 1914, Europe had never known such prosperity. But the times were not good enough for the continent’s most powerful nations: Germany wanted a navy that matched England’s; Russia wanted an army as large and as disciplined as Germany’s; the Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted more respect; and England felt compelled to teach the others about civilized relations. How terrible could a war be? In this riveting account of a tragic episode in world history, author Jack Batten takes readers through a far bloodier conflict than mankind had ever before endured. Meet the soldiers who fought the deadly battles along the Western Front. Follow the trail of flying ace Billy Bishop as he tangles in the air with the Red Baron. Learn the strategy of Britain’s Grand Fleet of warships as it heads into the biggest sea battle in history. Discover how civilians decoded virtually all the messages the Germans sent to their ships around the world. From the Battle of the Somme, Gallipoli, Passchendale, and Vimy Ridge to the war’s final battles, The War to End All Wars evokes the heroism and suffering of men from every country, whose stories changed the face of the world forever. With maps, index, and selected bibliography.
Called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, received the Order of Canada and is considered to have been one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. This new biography from award-winning author Jack Batten, promises to tell Oscar Peterson's story in acomplete, compelling and sympathetic way. This is first biography of Oscar Peterson for young people. This book is the story of a black kid from a Montreal ghetto who reached accliam in the great music halls of the world.
The two murder trials held in Toronto in the spring of 1962 only nineteen days apart made Canadian social and legal history. The accused man in each trial, one a pimp who stabbed to death a fellow pimp, the other a thief who killed a policeman in a shootout, were the last two men to be hanged in Canada. In personal terms, for a Toronto criminal lawyer named Ross Mackay, the trials represented just two more episodes in a tumultuous life story. Mackay was the counsel for the accused in both trials, a mere thirty years old when he lost two clients to the gallows. But the trials were far from the last times that Mackay defended accused murderers in the most horrendous circumstances. It’s the story of Mackay’s dedication to the maxim that every man is entitled to a defence that Jack Batten tells in this book, a story that emerges in all its colour, drama and tragedy, a story of Mackay’s courage and the harsh penalties he paid for the often daring and controversial choices he made in life and in the courtroom.