Recent Class Notes

Books and Beyond

  • Kickass Canadian homepage

    Kickass Canadians

    Amanda Sage, Artsci’01

    You probably already know this, but here it is again: Canadians kick ass. Although our population is small and our time as a nation short, there’s a plethora of Canucks making a huge impact – and they can all be found in one place. , a website created by writer/blogger/photographer/publisher Amanda Sage, Artsci’01, who shares her insights, experiences, and encounters with inspiring Canadians such as environmentalist David Suzuki, astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield, and politician Elizabeth May, as well as many Queen’s alumni. It hosts podcasts, too, on a variety of current topics.

  • Toller Cranston – Ice, Paint, Passion by Phillipa Cranston Baran

    Toller Cranston: Ice, Paint, Passion

    Phillippa Cranston Baran, Artsci’68

    “If something is worth doing, it’s worth overdoing” – so said the Canadian figure skater and artist Toller Cranston, who, it could be argued, overdid art throughout his life – whether on the ice as an Olympic figure skater throughout the latter half of the 20th century, or as a painter, producing approximately 20,000 works exhibited worldwide. Toller passed away in 2015 at the age of 65. For his biography, Toller Cranston: Ice, Paint, Passion, his sister, Phillippa Cranston Baran, Artsci’68, drew upon letters, interviews, photography, and original artwork to reveal who her brother was: a compelling and inspirational Canadian, an artist, an athlete, and an icon in the LGBTQ community.  is available from Sutherland House Books.

  • Let's Talk ľĹĐăÖ±˛Ą Aging Parents by Laura Tamblyn Watts

    Let’s Talk ľĹĐăÖ±˛Ą Aging Parents: A Real-Life Guide to Solving Problems with 27 Essential Conversations

    Laura Tamblyn Watts, Artsci’95

    It’s a difficult but essential conversation – and with the right tools, a conversation on aging can be productive, according to author Laura Tamblyn Watts, Artsci’95. CEO of CanAge, Canada’s national seniors’ advocacy organization and a teacher on law and aging at the University of Toronto. The author brings experience and expertise to her book, Let’s Talk ľĹĐăÖ±˛Ą Aging Parents: A Real-Life Guide to Solving Problems with 27 Essential Conversations. In it, she argues that necessary discussions about such topics as caregiving, money, power of attorney, assisted living, and illness with aging parents can be challenging but navigable.  is published by The Experiment.

  • Stalin's Failed Alliance by Michael Jabara Carley

    Stalin’s Gamble: The Search for Allies against Hitler, 1930-1936

    Michael Carley, MA’71, MPhil’76

    Understanding how Russia thinks and acts can seem perplexing to those in the West – but perhaps it’s because we tend to view things from a western perspective. This is particularly evident with events leading up to the Second World War, argues Michael Carley, MA’71, MPhil’76, professor of history at the UniversitĂ© de MontrĂ©al. In Stalin’s Gamble: The Search for Allies against Hitler, 1930-1936 – part of a trilogy on Russia’s foreign policy leading up the war – the author reveals Stalin as a foreign policy maker and examines his diplomatic manoeuvrings throughout the 1930s. is available from University of Toronto Press.

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