Subtitled "A Thirty Day Trek Through the Newfoundland Interior from West to East". Two middle-aged men hike across Newfoundland from Robinson's on the west coast, through Bay D'Espoir, to Swift Current, and on to Trinity Bay. Pretty much a commentary on the hiking itself, with lots of commentary on boulders trod upon and bogs avoided, and numerous place names, but little information about the flora and fauna seen. Would be better with a detailed map.

A novel telling the story of the riot in Badger in 1959, when the striking loggers clashed with the RCMP and the Constabulary. Told as a series of repeating story threads, each centered on one of a dozen or so central characters. The story is divided into three main sections - 1) earlier area history and events leading up to the strike, 2) the strike, and 3) the riot. Plenty of detail and local color, with the human aspect of the events well developed. Sometimes a bit melodramatic, and generally lacking balance by constantly being sympathetic to the strikers and excusing their increasingly violent actions. An engrossing read.

Subtitled "A selection of Newfoundland Writings". An anthology of short stories, essays, a couple of dramas, and numerous poems, all by Newfoundland writers (most well known) and all (at least all of the stories and essays) about Newfoundland. Would be even better with more stories/essays and less poems!

Historical novel about early English settlement on Newfoundland's Southern Shore.

A self-published compendium of specious pronouncements on everything that is wrong with Newfoundland financially, complete with implausible solutions. Often inconsistant and self-contradictory. At times humorous, although probably not intentionally so.

A fairly brief biography of Newfoundland's great "native son" artic explorer.

Subtitled "An Unsuccessful Attempt to Save the Seal Hunt". A slim volume recalling the arrival of outside activists in St. Anthony in 1976-1977 to protest the seal hunt.

Subtitled "The Heroism and Horror of War". An in-depth and highly detailed telling of the build up and fighting at the Battle of the Somme, starting July 1 1916. Includes numerous well reproduced black&white photos. The book tends to be clinical, showing little of the human cost of the actions. The Newfoundland content is scanty, and the rating reflects this.

A novel consisting of five adventure tales set in remote coastal areas of northern Newfoundland and Labrador.

A novel for young readers, starring eleven-year-old Patsy as she travels to visit relatives in a south coast outport in 1962, with resettlement looming.

Subtitled "Growing up in Bay L'Argent and Boxey in the Depression and the War Years". A memoir, of sorts, of growing up on the northeast side of Fortune Bay, consisting mostly of anecdotes and what could pass as essays about various episodes in the author's life (and far past "growing up"). Mostly told as if spinning yarns about the "old days" with friends.

A travelog of sorts of the author's travels along the south coast of Newfoundland in his boat, circa 1962. Bloated, often tedious, and at times tendentious. Much more about the author and his wife and his acquaintances, and details of their likes and dislikes, than about Newfoundland. Occasionally lyric in his praise of some place of natural beauty, but more often derogatory in his views of both places and people. As might be expected with this author, lots of pronouncements presented as if revealed wisdom. Only for a fan of the author.

The author's often richly described memories of her travels around the province, starting in the early 1950s, setting up and administering public libraries outside St. John's. Includes introductory chapters on the history of the Newfoundland library system.

[11x8-1/2 format] A slim volume of photos and stories about mostly sailing ships - both fishers and racers. Only part of the book concerns Newfoundland.

Subtitled "The Royal Newfoundland Regiment 1775-1815". Fairly detailed history from the American revolution through the war of 1812.

Life on St. John's southside in the 1940s and 1950s. Includes old photos of what the area looked like (houses and church) before it was mostly bulldozed to widen the harbor. A slim volume that seemed to end soon after it started, but a quick and very interesting read! One of the best of the "first person reminiscences" genre.

Subtitled "Newfoundland Sea Stories". Thirty-eight brief tales (in 198 pages) of boats, both wrecks and disappearances.

A collection of more than three dozen of the author's humorous short stories, typically about three pages each. Originally published in "The Evening Telegram" and other newspapers.

Subtitled "A Vanished people". [10-1/2x8 format] A booklet. Details various aspects of the Beothuk in general and of their daily lives. Many useful illustrations and color photos of artifacts.

A tedious historical novel purporting to represent a thousand years of Beothuk history by interweaving history, legend, and both real and fictional characters.

Subtitled "A Hearty Tale of the Sea". A novel set in the outports of Newfoundland's north coast. The tale of an old sealing/fishing captain and his sickly young orphaned grandson, related by a skipper reminiscing back to his own early teen days when he knew them. Lots of sea danger here, and a bit of Tiny Tim, but overall a warm story of overcoming adversity.

A slim volume of eleven short stories (and one radio play), starring Uncle Mose, Grampa, Aunt Sophy and other inhabitants of the fictitious settlement of Pigeon Inlet. All very readable, but doubtless loses something compared to hearing them on the radio.

Subtitled "Joseph R. Smallwood as the Barrelman". Selected stories from the newspaper version of Smallwood's popular radio show. Probably a lot more interesting at the time as radio broadcasts.

Subtitled "The Royal Newfoundland Regiment". [8-1/2x11 format] More an authorized review of modern pomp and parade than a history of a fighting unit. WWI is covered in 17 pages (Beaumont Hamel gets one page) and WWII is covered in 6 pages!

A very detailed history about denominational politics in NF, mostly between 1820-1855. William Carson, Ambrose Shea, Bishop Fleming, Henry Prescott, Patrick Morris, et al. It jumps around a bit chronologically. It also presents a very unflattering picture of both the Catholic and Tory (Protestant) sects, and the principle characters too! It is not neutral, but does try to be even handed. Lots of appendices, plus a bibliography and an index.

Subtitled "Strange and Unique Stories of the Sea". Tales of ships and shipwrecks in the seas around Newfoundland. The author's eighth book on this theme.

Subtitled "From Crime to Eternity". Around eighty-eight stories about crime, criminals, and related topics, divided into two sections "Beyond the Grave" and "Justice". Most of the stories are very brief (many less than a page) and often trivial, but all are supposedly true (which appears to mean that the author did not make them up himself, but not that the tales are factual). A lot of them are old stories that appeared in print at one time or another. Uneven, but often enjoyable.

Subtitled "Portraits & Visions of Newfoundlanders". [11x8-1/2 format] A story in pictures about the Great Northern Peninsula, but not told very well. Many full page photos, some quite nice, accompanied by brief memoirs by various local people - and briefer commentary. A hardcover "coffee table" book, but excellent print quality.

An artist and his family move to the Brigus area from NYC, circa 1910. The main character is eccentric and very egocentric, interesting if not terribly likable at times. Lots of local color. Often an easy read, but often a bit unclear. 10% dropped in editing would have made it better.

A slim volume of reminiscences about events and people in the author's hometown. Likely to be of little interest to anyone without ties to that locale.

Subtitled "A Story For Boys". A novel for boys, and the second of three starring Billy Topsail and his friends. Set mostly in a small remote northern outport, the story is full of action, adventure, and danger, and consists of 36 chapters, each a short story in itself and each with a brief introduction summarizing the action. The author's style again tends to include a lot of conversations in local dialect.

Subtitled "A Tale of Adventure With Doctor Luke of the Labrador". A novel for boys, and the third of three starring Billy Topsail and his friends. Set mostly in a small remote northern outport, the story is full of action, adventure, and danger, and consists of 42 chapters, each a short story in itself and each with a brief introduction summarizing the action. The author's style again tends to include a lot of conversations in local dialect.

A novel set in a small Newfoundland outport circa 1911, told through the eyes of the main character, who happens to be an artist who draws birds. A tale of backward reflections on love, adultery, murder, guilt and possibly redemption. Generally interesting and well written, although it took a while to build up interest.

A slice of life of a disparate group of characters that's starts in a cheap rooming house in present day St. John's. Not a mystery, nor an adventure - just life. Wanted to devour it in one sitting! Written as a single long chapter with breaks in the action.

Novel. From the back cover ".. tells the turbulent love story of Lucky and Helen, whose relationship seems doomed from the start. ..". An easy read and entertaining, but suffers from a lack of depth and detail, a reliance on unoriginal coincidences to move the plot along, and characters who, although living in an outport around 1910, somehow speak very proper English. Does not say so, but appears to be written for a teen audience.

An anthology of short stories (including a lengthy chapter from the book "House of Hate"), a few poems, a few uninteresting "scholarly" writings (mercifully brief), and several monologues. Interesting overall, but an odd mixture.

An autobiographical novel of some of the author's adventures as a wildlife warden around Englee, on the Great Northern Peninsula.

An adventure novel for young teens. Stars a self-involved 15-year old boy and someone new in his school - a dark haired, dark eyed girl. Parallel chapters follow them as they seek an old burial ground for information for a school project about the Beothuk, and a young Beothuk living in the same area two centuries earlier.

Subtitled "A Lusty Romp Through Newfoundland Placenames". A very slim illustrated story that attempts, with varying success, to use real Newfoundland placenames in tongue-in-cheek ways. More smutty than witty.

A collection of 10 short essays about events from the author's childhood in the early 1900s, including the title story about his first sailboat. Includes pen&ink illustrations by the author.

A sort of travelog aboard a leaky old sailing vessel owned and skippered by the author in the early 1960s, as he travels in fits and starts from Newfoundland's Southern Shore, around to St. Mary's Bay, Burin, St. Pierre, and finally on to the mainland. Starts off strong and humorous for the first third or so, then kind of runs out of steam. And, unfortunately, the author follows his usual penchant for presenting personal biases as revealed truths.

A novel about a young boy shipwrecked off Labrador and found and raised by two local families. Mostly about the boy's many adventures while growing into his early teens. Sometimes has a heavy-handed religious veneer, and a too-sweet ending detracts a bit, but a fast moving and entertaining tale. For boys.

A sequel of sorts to "The Islands of Bonavista Bay", wherein the author details many of the activities and people in and around the areas of the bay familiar to him while growing up. Probably a bit heavy on details of the author's family for the general reader, but well written and generally interesting.

[11x8-3/8 format] An historical survey of numerous communities on the Bonavista peninsula, with an emphasis on railroad history. Many black&white photos, plus lots of details and trivia.

A novel consisting of seventeen short stories and one not so short story, on a variety of topics ranging from a pirate adventure to schmaltzy romances to the tragic St. John's hostel fire on Harvey Road (the long story). The language and style suggest target audience that enjoys romance novels.

Subtitled "Original Newfoundland Stories, Recitations and Poetry". Most of the numerous entries are in verse (generally rhyming), and are designed for oral story telling. A wide variety of topics are covered, including "Flourbag Underwear", "Down on the Wharf", "The Fisherman's Hangover", "The Beer Strike of '85", "The Bayboy's Wedding", "The Legendary Wild Baloney" and "The Life of an Iceberg". Very entertaining.

Subtitled "The Collected Stories of Robert C. Parsons". Mostly reprints of previously published articles and stories, all about Newfoundland, and most with the author's familiar nautical themes. Presented as four broad topics: the sea, war at sea, murders/riots, and disasters/oddities. Not a bad read, but not very exciting either.

[8-3/4x12 format] Illustrated by Jan Mogensen. A very slim (32 pages) book consisting of a poem with illustrations, starring a human-like being named Borrowed Black, "a being created from borrowed items held together by greed. One night he borrows the moon ..". For the 7-12 year old audience. Not much to it.

[8-1/2x11 format] A slim (32 pages) fully color illustrated book to be read with a young child. Set in a Newfoundland outport in the 1930s, and starring young Mary, who dreams of traveling to distant lands, and the Boston Box - a box of clothes and odds and ends that arrives each Christmas season from a relative in Boston.

Subtitled "The log of a young seaman on board the Matthew" (the replica), while crossing the Atlantic from England to Bonavista in 1997. A slim volume that includes lots of photos taken aboard ship.

[8-1/4x11 format] "Bowring Building" on the cover. A very slim, company sponsored authorized biography of the C.T. Bowring Company, from it's founding in Newfoundland to the mid 1960s in London. Little about Newfoundland, but much about the history of the Tower of London (nearby to the present company headquarters building). Not much to it.

Subtitled "A Family Reading for Christmas Eve". [8x8 format] The author's family stories centered around the holidays and set on and around Signal Hill in the 1930s and 1940s. Numerous black&white photos.

Twenty short stories presented as examples of traditional Newfoundland oral storytelling, each with explanatory notes that attempt to add depth and meaning - often without notable success.

[8-3/4x11-1/4 format] A 32 page tale for young readers, claiming to be a Newfoundland folktale. Starts out on what could be an outport farm, but then adds a king, queen and princess. A morality tale of good being rewarded. Illustrated in color.

Selections from the author's column from "The Telegram" in the mid-80s through mid-90s. Unabashedly feminist and highly opinionated, so don't expect balance or opposing thoughts. Somewhat dated, but generally interesting.

Subtitled "Stories from Newfoundland and Labrador". A slim volume of 21 recycled stories that originally appeared in "The Monitor" from 1974 through 1990. A mixed bag of topics, including Peter Easton, the Caribou sinking, Grenfell, the seal hunt, and the Anglican cathedral.

A history of MUN from 1925-1950. Read some parts, skimmed some, and ignored others. Lots of details, but also very dry. Probably of more interest to someone either involved with MUN or with an interest in minutiae. However, the chapter titled "Socioeconomic Background 1925-1950" was an interesting capsule history of the Newfoundland economy.

Subtitled "Past Glory, Present Splendor". A hefty history, with the first 2/3 told as a series of fourteen local walking tours where a fictional grandfather expounds on local history as replies to his fictional grandson's leading questions. The rest of the book is mostly about the various religious groups in the area. Helps to have an abiding interest in Brigus.

Subtitled "the story of CBC Radio's Fisheries Broadcast". An often lively history of the radio show, from inception into the late 1990s, with lots of peeks behind the scenes of people being interviewed, events unfolding, and the logistics of staging the show, including travelling to get to the stories.

A novel set in the present, centering on Lill Dunn, a 40-ish widow teaching in her small outport birthplace. Her life changes when she takes up with with Rod, a younger man and also a teacher in the same school and with the same local roots, although he had moved away years ago and only recently returned. There is a secret with Rod's parentage that affects many people - including Lill. Gritty at times, but also a real page turner!

A novel for Junior High aged readers, featuring a pair of brothers, Josh, in his early teens, and Tommy, a few years younger. The time is the early 60s, and they live in a tiny community in a bay on the east side of Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula. The story is a look at a few months of their lives after their parents have temporarily had to go to the mainland, and includes details of other small nearby communities, the boys' interactions with family and friends, and, of course, a few adventures.

Subtitled "A Story of Old Newfoundland". An adventure tale set in northern Newfoundland in the 16th century. A gentleman English adventurer is stranded in Newfoundland. Add in an English baronet in exile who has a plantation and fort near the coast, the baronet's lovely daughter, a shifty but debonair Frenchman competing with the Englisman for the lady's affections, the Englishman's Indian friend (hence the title), battles with seemingingly numberless Beothuks, and a couple of brief battles at sea, and you get a vigorous mix of soap opera and action, with many plots and counterplots, muskets and arrows, and lots of deaths!

Subtitled "A Journey into Newfoundland Waters". A very detailed history of stocking the waters in the St. John's area with the named species of fish, with lots of statistics and information about foreign sources, local hatcheries, sportsmen's clubs, tips for fishing, recipes, and numerous black&white photos of fishers with their prize catches. Often drowns in trivial details.