It’s time to take a look at some of the recent arrivals in the Local History Room.
In Riel’s Defence: Perspectives on His Speeches the focus is on two speeches that Louis Riel gave during his trial for high treason following his capture after the North-West Rebellion: the first addressing the jury and the second (rarely re-printed) to the court following his guilty verdict. Both speeches are analyzed in collected essays by several contributors interested in their philosophical and rhetorical elements. The themes that are central to most essays are how Riel sought to dissipate any doubts about his sanity using rational arguments and the merit of the legal case he presented in his defence of treason, which by extension was also affirming the rights of Métis people.
Veteran local politician Gord Mackintosh offers and unconventional political memoir accessible to Manitobans of all political stripes. Stories Best Left Untold: Tales from a Manitoba legislator is a behind-the-scenes look at provincial politics that focuses on anecdotes from his career, spanning events like the French Language Crisis, Meech Lake Crisis, MTS Debate, and Flood of the Century, culminating in the party rebellion against Premier Greg Selinger. Though Selinger refused to resign and survived the mutiny, the provincial NDP was fatally weakened, something Gord attributes to his opponents not taking the time to gather enough support before launching the revolt. The book also includes chapters about his youth growing up in Ontario and his career as a lawyer and his rise in politics.
Though the great waves of unidentified flying objects sightings is behind us, the phenomenon still intrigues to this day. Fifty years ago this year, Winnipegger Stefan Michalak claimed to have had an encounter with a mysterious aircraft that left him seriously injured. When They appeared: Falcon Lake, 1967, The Inside Story of a Close Encounter was written by his son Stan and UFO researcher Chris Rutkowski. It includes Stefan’s original account of the encounter and relates how him and his family dealt with the government investigation and the extensive media coverage that followed. The book reviews the evidence left at the site, includes copies of transcripts of interviews and reports made at the time by the RCMP and other agencies, as well as tell Stan’s personal experiences and how the incident shaped his youth.
From the Outside in: Jewish Post & News Columns, 2015-2016 is a collection of columns written by Joanne Seiff for Winnipeg’s Jewish Post and News. These cover a wide range of topics of interest from raising children, social justice to the keeping of religious practices. The author also includes anecdotes about her personal experiences, notably about moving to unfamiliar Winnipeg from the States and how they adapted.
On June 19th, 1816 an event occurred that had a pivotal impact on the history of what would become Manitoba (even if it has somewhat receded from our collective memory). This was the of Battle of Seven Oaks that broke out between rival hunting parties of the fur trade companies (the Hudson Bay and North West) that were vying for control of the territory. The Seven Oaks Reader by Myrna Kostash offers a comprehensive retelling of the Fur Trade Wars. The book incorporates period accounts and journals, histories, memoirs, songs and fictional retellings, from a wide range of sources.
And to conclude, in The Forks, a Meeting Place Transformed by Sheila Grover you can learn about the early history of The Forks, the fur trade and railway eras, and the transformation from an industrial site into one of Winnipeg’s most popular gathering places. The book also includes a self-guided tour of the historic and contemporary buildings and landscapes. This is an ideal title to learn about how much the Forks have changed, especially in the last decades.
Come to the Local History Room and check it out!
– Louis-Philippe
