A memoir of a south coast man (Fortune Bay area). Fisherman, teacher, politician, civil servant. His views on fishing, the problems with the fisheries, and his solutions. No new ground here, but very readable and generally entertaining.

One of a series of books, with each having the Mountie encounter adventures in a different province. A book for young readers (the same age group as for the Hardy Boys series).

Subtitled "An Adventure Story Reveals New Concepts of Time". Chasing whales around Conception Bay in motor boats, seemingly as much for the amusement of friends and relatives as for any purported scientific work. A mixture of on the water hijinks, contrived conversations, whale lore, conjecture, and exposition of the author's theories. The title could as well be "Pestering Whales".

Subtitled "a story of the early days in Newfoundland". A rousing adventure novel for young teens, set in 1676 in a settlement a few miles south of St. John's. Includes a mysterious captured pirate ship and a visit by Devon fishing ships bent on using and then burning the local settlements (which were still banned at that time). As seen through the eyes of two teenaged boys.

A novel about Newfoundland - spies, Bell Island, German submarines, Canadian anti-sub corvettes, and the K of C fire. Deftly mixes facts with fiction, and tells the story from the viewpoints of the various parties involved, including a spy and the commanders of the German submarine and Canadian warships.

An adventure novel for younger readers, starring 10 year old Danny and his younger sister Prue. Their family lives in coastal Labrador, and while their father is away working his traplines, an elderly blind neighbor comes to stay with them. Young Danny is always full of grandiose ideas, and manages to get himself and Prue into a few scrapes. Mostly day to day activities of the children, but a decent read. Includes nice illustrations by Rudolph Freund.

An autobiography, centering on details of being a nurse in Labrador. More interesting than most of this genre. Includes photos.

An adventure novel for younger readers, starring 10 year old Davie and his younger sister Patience. Their family lives in the small coastal settlement of Heart's Ease, apparently some place on the east side of the Northern Peninsula. Their father has been reported drowned in the sinking of a schooner that he captained, leaving the family in a hard way, but Davie believes that he's alive and just lost, and so keeps devising schemes to stow away to St. John's to then find him on the docks.

[10-3/4x11-1/4 format] A colorful selection of Blackwood's art prints that he made from his own etchings, with narratives and captions. The images include people and activities, and some are quite powerful, especially those portraying sealing disasters.

Subtitled "Northern Newfoundland and Southern Labrador 1958-1964". [11x8-3/4 format] A modest volume of color photos accompanied by often detailed captions. Nothing special, and most of the photos are a bit dark.

Subtitled "9/11 In Gander, Newfoundland". From the dust jacket ".. a positively heartwarming account of the citizens of Gander and its surrounding communities and the unexpected guests who are welcomed with exemplary kindness". Thousands of travelers on dozens of planes are diverted to Gander and surrounding communities. A fan letter to the towns' people.

An adventure novel starring a teenaged boy named John, a settler fresh to Newfoundland from England, and Mishbee, a Beothuck girl, who meet one day in the forest. The story is told in mostly alternating chapters, first from his perspective, then from hers, as their friendship, which both keep a secret from their families, builds. For younger teens.

Subtitled "A grandfather shares his early life experiences with his granddaughter". Fifteen of a grandfather's letters to his very young grand-daughter in 1962 to 1965, describing aspects of his own boyhood for her future reading. For young readers. Interesting stories with appropriate pen&ink style illustrations.

A mystery centered on a murder mystery weekend at a hotel in a small outport an hour or so from Gander. From the book jacket "steeped in the atmosphere of outport Newfoundland", but not really. Not a bad story, but with minimal changes could be placed in any small coastal town. A fast read.

Subtitled "The Great Newfoundland Sealing Disaster of 1914". A superior telling of the fatal voyage of the Newfoundland. Takes the reader with the crew, both aboard ship and out on the ice. Excellent!

A tedious murder mystery set in modern day St. John's, although for the lack of local color it could as well be set in Halifax. Filled with uninteresting details of the thoughts and lives of all the characters, and ending with a lengthy exposition of the "why's and why not's" of each suspect's guilt.

A decent but dry telling of the story of this Beothuk woman.

A rewrite of his 1952 book "The History of Education in Newfoundland". Drowning in details and statistics, but covering a wide range of topics relating to education in Newfoundland, although by now badly out of date. Tedious. Unless assigned as required reading in a school course, just skip to the last chapter, a summary of the entire book.

Title continued "in Old Words, Phrases and Expressions". A slim volume fairly well described by the full title, and a worthy early precursor to the "Dictionary of Newfoundland English". Sponsored by drugstore distributor Gerald S Doyle Ltd, who'se full-page ads for various products are sprinkled throughout. Reprinted in 1997 with an informative preface.

The author, a Brit, was the Commissioner for Public Utilities in Newfoundland from 1934-1937 with the Commission of Government. A detailed analysis of Newfoundland, primarily from the view of finances and resources, centered on the early 1930s, comparing before and after the first five years or so of the Commission. Presents strengths and weaknesses, accomplishments and failures, of both the Commission and the prior responsible governments. Hard hitting at times, but always well reasoned. A bit dry, but always interesting insights into events at the times they were happening, plus predictions for the future. Major topics include the fishery, forestry, mining, the railroad, education, health, the dole, and the early resettlement programs.

To quote "an attempt to provide some basic reference information on approximately 1,500 individuals who have influenced the development of Newfoundland ...". Brief biographical sketches, most culled from previously published materials. Includes several indices.

Second Edition, originally published 1982. Want to know the meanings and usages of thousands of local words that don't appear in mainstream dictionaries? A cross between a dictionary and a desktop encyclopedia.

Subtitled "Industrial Disease and Conflict at St. Lawrence, Newfoundland". An academic approach to telling the story of the lung diseases that killed so many miners in the St. Lawrence area. Takes the approach of documenting the mines from their start in 1933, detailing the terrible working conditions that the miners endured, and documenting how neither the company nor the various government agencies involved paid more than lip service to the dangers until finally - decades later - some very belated improvements were made. A drawn out tragedy that could have been stopped early on had government done it's job and the mining companies been less greedy. Includes extensive footnotes and bibliography. Can be viewed as a companion work to the book "Dying Hard" (not by this author), which presents the story through the eyes of some of the miners and their families.

Despite what the title may seem to imply, these two short plays have nothing whatsoever to do with Newfoundland.

Subtitled "Pages from Newfoundland's Past". Based on previously published magazine articles. Brief histories of various towns and topics. Not much depth.

A bit of a letdown after "The Navigator of New York". Set in St. John's in the 1960s, a year in the life of a somewhat strange, and very introspective for his age, nine year old. Kind of runs out of steam in the second half.

Subtitled "The Memoirs of Frances A. Clarke, CM". Glimpses into the life of an accomplished woman who received the "Order of Canada", with emphasis on her volunteer work, particularly with the Women's Institutes. A lot of information, but not much of it looks to be of general interest.

A novel for boys, consisting of 28 chapters, which although related could also each stand alone as a series of short stories. Adventure and danger, with lots of action, starring young Davy, his family and neighbors, and his friend Skipper Tom Lovejoy. The locale is the Labrador coast. The author's style tends to include a lot of conversations in local dialect.

Subtitled "Portrait of an American Surgeon in Newfoundland". A fairly weighty biography, largely told through a series of "as told to" interviews with numerous people who worked with the doctor, a technique that causes fragmentation, some repetition, and a lot of jumping around in time. Some chapters excellent, some chapters only fair, but overall a good read. The doctor seems to have been an excellent physician, but not much of a person in other ways. He practiced in Twillingate from 1930 into the 1980s.

Subtitled "Forty Years of Outpatient Humour from Twillingate Hospital, Newfoundland". A slim volume that, while indeed containing many humorous entries (most based on the local patients lack of knowledge of medicine and medical terms), is made all the slimmer by having over a third of the pages taken up with various introductory materials. This type of humor is better in smaller doses.

A memoir centering on being a locum (temporary) doctor in Labrador in fairly modern times. Not all chapters are about Newfoundland. A good read as the author makes even what should be humdrum activities sound interesting!

Subtitled "The Eskimo Coast Disaster". Based on the hurricane that struck the Labrador coast in 1885, wrecking many boats and killing at least 70 people. Claims to be a true story, but appears to be more of a novel built on the events.

Love the style. Love the format. An ordinary autobiography of an ordinary person. No plot twists or deep intrigues. No tricks. Straightforward. The photos and map were a nice touch! [Although I find myself running to the Nfld dictionary about every page to look up some word or other! Barm, scunner, linney, cordwainer and bedlamer are just a few!]

An anthology of fourteen short stories from the three authors, several previously published, and most set in Newfoundland. Some appear to be autobiographical, and cover diverse subjects and experiences.

A novel centering on the life of a south coast dory fisherman.

Subtitled "The story of a spry little boat and those who knew her best". Origins, styles, construction, and stories of events involving them, but most not observed by the author. Lots of photos of dories.

Subtitled "Newfoundland Writings as Art Selected and Edited for Young people". Appears to be for younger teens. Numerous short stories and poems by various authors, including many well known Newfoundland writers, and a few pieces of art printed, unfortunately, in black&white. A somewhat mixed bag, but mostly about Newfoundland.

A novel, told largely through an American psychiatrist in St. John's who is involved in a project cruelly experimenting on unwilling human subjects to try to create a psychic weapon for the military. The plot mixes telepathy with "Conspiracy Theory" (Mel Gibson) and a bit of "Telefon" (Charles Bronson), although crediting neither movie. Starts off slowly - taking a long time to get near the plot- but the second half gets more interesting.

A baker's dozen of first person adventure tales, all involving people the author met on his medical (and often religious) missionary travels along coastal Labrador. A fast read.

Subtitled "in the 1940's". A slim memoir of a young United Church lay minister, his travels, and his day to day activities during his early postings in the late 1940s in the Roddickton/Englee area. Lively, and includes some useful, and sometimes humorous, black&white photos.

A novel set in the present era. The wasted lives of a young Newfoundlander and the people he touches. Not exactly sympathetic characters - any of them! The central character is convinced that life - and everyone alive - owes him a living.

Subtitled "Yarns From The Labrador". A series of stories, apparently at some level based on fact, since the author is a central character. Looks to be written for young adults. Each story is set in coastal Labrador, comprises a separate chapter, and contains a mix of outdoor adventure (heavily relying on bad weather and rough seas) and moral uplift.

A novel set in a remote outport in the 40's. Starts off a bit slow with a lengthy prologue, but soon becomes a real page turner. Not quite as gritty as "Kit's Law" by the same author.

A tribute to Grenfell, although more about the Labrador people and their supposed lifestyle than about the good doctor. The author seems to believe that only Grenfell can deliver the people from a life of undeserved and unrelenting deprivation in a harsh environment.

Subtitled "His Life, Letters and Speeches". Also states "Raw Material For A Biography". [9x12 format] A preface about Carson, followed by a selection of letters to and from him (mostly from) and speech excerpts, from the period 1810 to 1843. Like a set of collated research notes.

About a hundred pages of pen drawings of Newfoundland public figures, including artists, politicians, sports figures, television personalities, writers and others. Pen&ink caricatures, each having a large recognizable head atop a fanciful or humorous body and/or attire.

Subtitled "Celebrating the Art Collection of North America's Easternmost City". [12-1/4x8 format] Local artists, and much of the art is of local subjects. Mostly photos, prints and paintings - some quite captivating. In color.

Subtitled "the Island in the Early Nineteenth Century". A slim book, but a readable (and favorable) history of Duckworth's time as governor 1810-1812.

[10-1/2x9-3/4 format] A slim (32 pages) color illustrated story of a north coast Newfoundland family faced with moving away because of the cod moratorium, and the eleven year old son who may have found a way for them to stay. For a young reader.

The story of the miners of St. Lawrence - and the lung diseases that are still killing them. An introduction, ten or so interviews, and an epilogue. The interviews were interesting, often poignant, sometimes whiney. Hard to rate the book on how accurately or balanced the story is, since the introduction mentions that the author selected only a few of many interviews, and even those are heavily edited for both content and language.