Allan Gregg in Conversation

February 13 2009: Bruce Dowbiggin

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 22:00:00 EST

In a provocative new book, sports journalist Bruce Dowbiggin argues that hockey shows who we really are as Canadians -- and it's not always a pretty picture. His book is called The Meaning of Puck.

February 6 2009: Gwynne Dyer

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 6 Feb 2009 22:00:00 EST

In a new book, Gwynne Dyer offers a terrifying vision of the not-too-distant future, all driven by the effects of global warming. Dyer is a Canadian journalist and historian. His book is called Climate Wars.

January 30 2009: Monia Mazigh

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 30 Feb 2009 22:00:00 EST

We've all heard about the ordeal of Maher Arar. Authorities in the United States arrested the Canadian citizen and sent him to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured. His wife, Monia Mazigh, tells her story in a new book, Hope and Despair: My Struggle to Free my Husband Maher Arar.

January 23 2009: Niall Ferguson

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:00:00 EST

Niall Ferguson is one of Britain's most renowned economic historians, a professor at both Oxford and Harvard Universities. He is also a bestselling author and his latest book couldn't be more timely. It's called The Ascent of Money: a Financial History of the World.

January 17 2009: Antonia Juhasz

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 22:00:00 EST

In a new book, Antonia Juhasz takes a critical look at how the American oil industry became so dominant globally and how to rein it in. She is a leading American oil industry, international trade and finance policy expert and her book is called The Tyranny of Oil.

January 9 2009: Gabor Mate

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 9 Jan 2009 22:00:00 EST

According to Dr. Gabor Mate, it's a difficult struggle for hard core drug addicts to kick their habit because their brains are impaired. In a new book, he looks at the common roots of addictive behaviours and what can be done about them. It's called In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction.

January 2 2009: Katherine Ashenburg

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 2 Jan 2009 22:00:00 EST

Ashenburg takes an amusing look at changing norms of personal hygiene through the ages in her book The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History.

December 26 2008: George Anthony

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:00:00 EST

Brian Linehan -- the Canadian talk show host died in 2004. And now, George Anthony has written a revealing biography about his old friend and colleague. It's called Starring Brian Linehan.

December 19 2008: Paul Martin

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:00:00 EST

He was Canada's prime minister for two years -- the Right Honourable Paul Martin. In a new memoir, he writes about his life in and out of politics. It's called Hell or High Water.

December 12 2008: Christopher Plummer

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:00:00 EST

He's one of our greatest living actors -- Christopher Plummer. At the age of seventy-nine, Plummer's career is still in full swing and now he's written a memoir. It's called In Spite of Myself.

November 28 2008: Andre Pratte

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:00:00 EST

In the wake of the federal election, Andre Pratte warns that Quebeckers are drifting away from the rest of the country. Pratte is the editorial page editor of La Presse. He has just come out with a new collection of essays by prominent francophones about Quebec's future.

November 28 2008: Richard Florida

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:00:00 EST

Richard Florida contends that the so-called "creative class" is key to a city's success. Florida is head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. His new book is called Who's Your City? How the Creative Economy is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life.

November 21 2008: Major-General Lewis MacKenzie

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:00:00 EST

Major-General Lewis MacKenzie has retired from the Armed Forces, but he continues to speak his mind as a commentator on military affairs. In a new memoir, MacKenzie takes aim at his critics and looks at the role of Canada's military, past and present. It's called Soldiers Made Me Look Good: A Life in the Shadow of War.

November 14 2008: Ted Rogers

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:00:00 EST

Ted Rogers is a legendary entrepreneur. In his new autobiography, he explains how he built Rogers Communications into one of the largest companies in Canadian history. It's called Relentless.

November 7 2008: Margaret Atwood

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 7 Nov 2008 22:00:00 EST

Margaret Atwood is one of Canada's leading activists on a wide range of environmental and cultural issues. Atwood delivered this year's Massey Lectures, which have been collected in a new book called Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth.

October 10 2008: Simon Winchester

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:00:00 EST

In a new book, Simon Winchester tells the remarkable story of the brilliant but eccentric Cambridge professor Joseph Needham. It's called The Man Who Loved China.

October 31 2008: Charlotte Gray

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:00:00 EST

She's been called the most important woman in Canadian history -- Nellie McClung. Charlotte Gray has written a biography about this extraordinary Canadian. It's called Nellie McClung.

October 31 2008: James Orbinski

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:00:00 EST

Canada's Dr. James Orbinski has witnessed some of the most horrific events of our time. In a new memoir, he recounts those experiences and how they changed him. It's called An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action in the Twenty-First Century.

October 24 2008: Salman Rushdie

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:00:00 EST

Salman Rushdie has been knighted by the Queen and for the second time, his novel Midnight's Children has won the Best of Booker Award. His latest novel is called The Enchantress of Florence.

October 17 2008: Eric Margolis

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:00:00 EST

Author and syndicated columnist Eric Margolis has long been a critic of American foreign policy and of Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan. His new book is called American Raj: Liberation or Domination?

October 10 2008: Christopher Shulgan

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:00:00 EST

In a new book, Christopher Shulgan tells the story of the Soviet diplomat who brought then-prime minister Trudeau and Gorbachev together and helped change the course of history. It's called The Soviet Ambassador.

October 3 2008: Devra Davis

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 3 Oct 2008 22:00:00 EST

A scientist and public health expert, Devra Davis is head of the Centre for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh. In a provocative new book she argues that we have been too focused on treating cancer, while ignoring its environmental causes. It is called The Secret History of the War on Cancer.

September 26 2008: Mel Hurtig

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:00:00 EST

The publisher, political activist and author argues we are no longer the people we think we are. He has combed world statistics to see how Canada really measures up and has published his important, astonishing, and truly appalling findings in The Truth about Canada.

June 13 2008: Paul Collier

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 13 June 2008 22:00:00 EST

In a new book, Oxford University economist and government adviser Paul Collier calls for dramatic changes to improve conditions for the world's poorest countries. The Bottom Billion is the winner of this year's Lionel Gelber Prize for the best book on international affairs.

May 30 2008: Anna Porter

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:00:00 EST

Rezso Kasztner saved thousands of his fellow Jews by bargaining for their lives with the Nazis. But after the Second World War he was vilified. Author Anna Porter recounts the dramatic story in her book, Kasztner's Train: The True Story of Rezso Kasztner, Unknown Hero of the Holocaust.

June 6 2008: Dee Dee Myers

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 6 Jun 2008 22:00:00 EST

She was White House Press Secretary to former President Bill Clinton, the first woman ever to hold the position. In a new book, she writes about those years and argues it's time for women to have their rightful share of power. The book is called Why Women Should Rule the World.

May 23 2008: Samantha Power

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 23 May 2008 22:00:00 EST

Samantha Power is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, human rights expert and Professor of the Practice of Global Leadership at Harvard University. In a new book, Power tells the life story of a United Nations envoy killed in Iraq. It's called Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World.

May 16 2008: Tom Hayden

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:00:00 EST

Tom Hayden was one of the 'Chicago Seven' arrested at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and later put on trial. Forty years later, he is still an activist. His latest book is called Writings for a Democratic Society: The Tom Hayden Reader.

May 9 2008: Garth Turner

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 9 May 2008 22:00:00 EST

Over the past several years there's been a huge real estate boom. But the boom is over and now the question is -- will we see a bust? Garth Turner is a financial commentator and Member of Parliament. His new book is called "Greater Fool: The Troubled Future of Real Estate".

April 4 2008: Erna Paris

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 4 Apr 2008 22:00:00 EST

Journalist Erna Paris traces the difficult birth of the International Criminal Court and America opposition to the independent body. It's called The Sun Climbs Slow: Justice in the Age of Imperial America.

May 2 2008: Steve Paikin

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 2 May 2008 22:00:00 EST

It's been called a revolution in hockey - the re-invention of the game since the National Hockey League 2004-05 lockout. Steve Paikin explores the sweeping changes and their impact in his new book "The New Game: How Hockey Saved Itself".

April 25 2008: Diane Francis

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:00:00 EST

In a new book, Diane Francis profiles seventy-five of Canada's richest people. Francis is editor-at-large of the National Post and her book is called Who Owns Canada Now: Old Money, New Money and the Future of Canadian Business.

April 18 2008: Thomas Cahill

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:00:00 EST

The Middle Ages -- it's often depicted as an era of fear and ignorance -- the tyranny of kings over long suffering peasants. However, in a new book, historian Thomas Cahill tells a different story. It's called Mysteries of the Middle Ages: And the Beginning of the Modern World.

April 11 2008: Pico Iyer

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:00:00 EST

With turmoil in Tibet as China prepares to host the Olympic games, the world's focus is on Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Journalist Pico Iyer has known him personally for more than thirty years and now he's written a book about him called The Open Road: the Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

February 15 2008: Kevin Patterson

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:00:00 EST

We're bombarded by media coverage of the Canadian forces in Afghanistan, but rarely do we hear from the soldiers themselves. Until now that is. Kevin Patterson's new book is called Outside the Wire: The War in Afghanistan in the Words of Its Participants.

February 15 2008: Yann Martel

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:00:00 EST

Canada's Yann Martel shot to international fame with his novel Life of Pi. He won the prestigious Booker Prize and his novel went on to sell six-million copies worldwide. Now Martel has come out with a special illustrated edition of Life of Pi.

April 4 2008: Erna Paris

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 4 Apr 2008 22:00:00 EST

Torture, mass rape, genocide -- how should those who commit crimes against humanity be brought to justice? In a new book, journalist Erna Paris traces the difficult birth of the International Criminal Court and America opposition to the independent body. It's called "The Sun Climbs Slow: Justice in the Age of Imperial America".

February 29 2008: Irshad Manji

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:00:00 EST

She's been called Osama bin Laden's worst nightmare. Journalist, feminist, Muslim activist -- Irshad Manji is world renowned as an outspoken advocate for Islamic reform. Manji is the author of The Trouble with Islam Today and now she's come out with a new DVD, Faith Without Fear.

March 21 2008: Simon Blackburn

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:00:00 EST

Simon Blackburn is one of the world's most eminent philosophers. But unlike most academics, the Cambridge University professor is also known for writing popular books of philosophy aimed at a wider audience. Time magazine hailed his bestseller, Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy, as "the one book every smart person should read to understand, and even enjoy, the key questions of philosophy."

March 21 2008: Roger Martin

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:00:00 EST

What do successful leaders have in common and what can we all learn from their success? In a new book, Roger Martin claims it's not what they do, but how they think. His book is called The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking.

March 28 2008: Sherry Cooper

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:00:00 EST

As aging baby boomers start to think about retirement, how financially prepared are they? According to economist Sherry Cooper, "boomers will redefine retirement just as they have redefined middle age." Her new book is called The New Retirement: How It Will Change Our Future.

September 28 2007: Gore Vidal

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:00:00 EST

Gore Vidal-literary lion, political gadfly, raconteur and friend of the famous. Now at the age of 81, Vidal looks back on his remarkable life in the second volume of his memoirs. The book is called "Point to Point Navigation".

September 21 2007: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:00:00 EST

In town for the North American premiere of director Jonathan Demme's "Jimmy Carter Man from Plains" at the Toronto International Film Festival, the former American president and his wife Rosalynn met with Allan Gregg for a candid pre-screening Q and A.

February 27 2009: Philip Norman

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:00:00 EST

John Lennon's fame has only grown since his death almost thirty years ago. In a massive new biography, journalist Philip Norman paints a more detailed picture than ever of the real man behind the legend. It's called John Lennon: the Life.

March 6 2009: Garth Turner

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 6 Mar 2009 22:00:00 EST

In a new book, financial expert and former MP Garth Turner offers practical advice on how to deal with falling house prices, shrinking investments, and more. It's called After the Crash: How to Guard Your Money in These Turbulent Times.

March 13 2009: Ron Suskind

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:00:00 EST

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ron Suskind claims the Bush White House deliberately misled America about the case for war in Iraq, and he looks at how his country can regain its moral authority. It's called The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism.

May 8 2009: Tony Burman

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 8 May 2009 22:00:00 EST

It is already broadcast in more than one hundred countries -- the English-language service of Al Jazeera. And now the international news network is hoping to start broadcasting in Canada. Tony Burman is former editor-in-chief of CBC News and now managing director of Al Jazeera English.

June 19 2009: John Ralston Saul

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:00:00 EST

In a new book, John Ralston Saul argues that we are a Metis nation, with more ties to Aboriginal culture than European. And he claims our history of multi-culturalism and peacekeeping reflects that heritage. His book is called A Fair Country: Telling Truths about Canada.

March 27 2009: Zoe Heller

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:00:00 EST

Zoe Heller's new novel is about a family facing a crisis of faith -- religious, political and personal. It's called The Believers.

March 27 2009: M. G. Vassanji

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:00:00 EST

In his novels M. G. Vassanji has been known to use India as a fictional setting. Now in a new book of non-fiction, Vassanji looks at the reality of modern India and his own ancestry. It's called A Place Within: Rediscovering India.

May 29 2009: Lawrence Freedman

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 29 May 2009 22:00:00 EST

In a new book, historian Lawrence Freedman looks at three decades of American foreign policy in the Middle East. A Choice of Enemies is the winner of this year's Lionel Gelber Award for best book on international affairs.

April 10 2009: David Hackett Fischer

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:00:00 EST

Four centuries ago, he founded Quebec City -- explorer Samuel de Champlain. Now this giant of Canadian history has been brought to life by David Hackett Fischer. His book is called Champlain's Dream: the Visionary Adventurer Who Made a New World in Canada.

April 3 2009: Susan Pinker

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 3 Apr 2009 22:00:00 EST

In a provocative new book, Susan Pinker argues that the gender gap has more to do with biological differences, than with discrimination. Pinker is a psychologist and columnist for the Globe and Mail. Her book is called The Sexual Paradox: Extreme Men, Gifted Women and the Real Gender Gap.

May 15 2009: Sylvia Bashevkin

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:00:00 EST

In a new book, Sylvia Bashevkin looks at why women's progress in politics seems stalled in this country. She is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Her book is called Women, Power, Politics: the Hidden Story of Canada's Unfinished Democracy.

May 15 2009: Barbara Annis

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:00:00 EST

Barbara Annis has spent years as a corporate consultant on gender concerns. In a new book, she looks at how brain science can help men and women understand each other better in the workplace. It's called Leadership and the Sexes: Using Gender Science to Create Success in Business.

April 24 2009: Michael Ignatieff

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:00:00 EST

In a new memoir, Michael Ignatieff writes about his mother's side of the family stretching back to Confederation, and how they influenced him. It's called True Patriot Love: Four Generations in Search of Canada.

May 22 2009: Dan Hill

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 22 May 2009 22:00:00 EST

Best-known for his smash hit Sometimes When We Touch, Dan Hill has also written and produced songs for stars like Celine Dion and Britney Spears. Yet for all his fame and fortune, there was one critic whose approval he yearned to win -- his father, civil rights activist Dan Hill the third. In a new memoir, Hill writes about their troubled relationship. It's called I Am My Father's Son: A Memoir of Love and Forgiveness.

April 17 2009: Don Tapscott

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:00:00 EST

Today's young people can't imagine life without the internet and their cellphones. But they use the technology in a very different way from their parents. In a new book, Don Tapscott explains how they are transforming every institution of modern life. It's called Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World.

June 12 2009: Wayson Choy

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:00:00 EST

Wayson Choy has cheated death not once, but twice, and lived to write about it. In his latest book, he recounts his brushes with death and how they changed him. It's called Not Yet: A Memoir of Living and Almost Dying.

March 20 2009: Ronald Wright

allangregg@tvo.org (TVO) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:00:00 EST

In a provocative new book, Ronald Wright contends that right from its start as a frontier society, America has used militarism and religious extremism to expand and prosper. His book is called What is America? A Short History of the New World Order.