Book Reviews for titles beginning with the letter "U"

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"Uncertain Refuge", 1993, Maura Hanrahan, 5.5-Fair
Subtitled "Lectures on Newfoundland society and culture". A series of the author's short lectures on sociology to undergrad college students. Themes include "historical heritage", "grassroots politics", "social conflict and problems" and "work and development".

"Uncle Joe and Sally: It's OK to be Different", 2008, Marion Quinton-Brake & Cassandra Boone, 5-Fair [2009-Apr]
A slim 44 page tale for young readers, set in the community of Trinity. A story with a lesson, starring a young boy whose family has just moved into the town and two slightly out of the ordinary rabbits at the local pet store. Scattered black&white drawings.

"Under The Clock", 2002, Gerald Barnable, 5-Fair
Subtitled "a legal history of the Ancient Capital". A very slim work about Placentia that tends to wander from its stated purpose.

"Under the White Ensign" vol 1, 1977, Herb Wells, 8-Excellent [2008-May]
Subtitled "A History of Newfoundland Naval Seamen Second World War". [8-1/2x11 format] Packed with photos and stories of the many allied warships lost in action that had Newfoundlanders in their crews, group photos with keyed names for the members of all eighteen Newfoundland naval contingents, and a selection of brief autobiographies of individual veterans.

"Under the White Ensign" vol 2, 1995, Herb Wells, 7-VeryGood
Subtitled "A history of Newfoundland Naval Seamen, Second World War And Korean War ". [8-1/2x11 format] Lots of stories and lots of photos wherever and whoever with the Newfoundlanders served.

"Under Two Flags", 1987, Bernard Fardy, 6.5-Good
Subtitled "The French-English Struggle for Newfoundland 1696-1796". Lots of detail about the various French raids. Very readable, but more a rehash of previously published information than any original research, as shown by the footnotes and bibliography.

"Undertow", 2002, Thomas R Curran, 8-Excellent [2006-Dec]
Subtitled "an inspector stride mystery". Novel. A murder investigation in St. John's in 1947. A well written story in a richly textured Newfoundland setting. A bit stiff at times (think of the old Dragnet TV shows of the '50s), and the main character often appears to be almost omniscient (or just relentlessly lucky), but very enjoyable nonetheless!

"Ungava Bob", 1907, Dillon Wallace, 7-VeryGood [2008-May]
Another of the author's Labrador adventure tales for boys, starring 16 year old Bob who goes out on his own to tend his father's trap line. He gets lost in the interior, but is rescued by Indians and travels with them as far north as Ungava Bay. Meanwhile, searchers find the scene of a wolf attack, and inform his parents and crippled younger sister of the apparent tragedy. Meant to present an uplifting message of faith and bravery.

"Unholy Orders", 1990, Michael Harris, 4-NotRecommended [2009-Nov]
Subtitled "Tragedy at Mount Cashel". A bloated telling of the tragic events at Mt Cashel after the inquiries some twenty years after the events at last brought things to public attention. Largely taken from the Royal Commission reports, newspaper reporting, and similar sources. Reads like something rushed to print with little independant investigation, including taking whatever the victims said at face value and following the example of various of the living accused in blaming everything on the few by this time deceased of the accused. A subject as serious as this deserved a far better telling.

"Unraveling Arva", 2003, Nicole Lundrigan, 6.5-Good
A novel set mostly in an outport. Reads like a biography, of the "women set upon by life and their useless men" genre. An easy read. Colorful. Entertaining.

"Upon This Rock", 1984, Paul O'Neill, 6-Good
Subtitled "The Story of the Roman Catholic Church in Newfoundland and Labrador". [9-1/4x12-1/4 format] A readable history, chock full of names and dates, but flows fairly well. Many illustrations and photos.

"Uprooted! The Argentia Story", 1992, Eileen Houlihan, 6-Good
[8-1/2x11 format] A selected history of Argentia, concentrating on the period of forced resettlement in the 1940s. Includes numerous photos.

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