Book Review: Great Canadians

Great Canadians: Twelve Profiles of Extraordinary People 

Author: Angela Murphy

Publisher: Folklore Publishing, paperback, 142 pages, including Acknowledgements, Introduction, and Notes on Sources

Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

The Author 

Angela Murphy, at the time of this volume’s publication, was, among other things, a full-time writer with an extensive and varied background in education. She held positions as a university lecturer, public school administrator and curriculum consultant before deciding to pursue a career in writing. She has written children’s books, magazine articles, and as a freelance literary reviewer for Canadian newspapers. Her previous book, Notorious Escapades, was one of the first books in the Great Canadian Stories series.

Contents

In addition to the Acknowledgements, Introduction, and Notes on Sources, there are 12 chapters. The chapters include: Chapter 1: Margaret Atwood, Chapter 2: Tommy Douglas, Chapter 3: Terry Fox, Chapter 4: Wayne Gretzky, Chapter 5: Sir John A. MacDonald, Chapter 6: Nellie McClung, Chapter 7: Marshall McLuhan, Chapter 8: Emily Murphy, Chapter 9: Lester B. Pearson, Chapter 10: Louis Riel, Chapter 11: David Suzuki, Chapter 12: Pierre Elliott Trudeau. 

In her Introduction, Murphy observed five “common threads” present in the lives of these 12 Canadians. Readers will notice that of the 12, only 3 of them are women. At the end of her Introduction, after providing a number of reasons why more women were not included in this volume, Murphy states: “If you would like to suggest names for a future book on Great Women of Canada, please forward your ideas by e-mail...” (pp. 10-11). There is, in this Great Canadian Stories series, a volume entitled Canadian Women Adventurers: Stories Of Daring & Courage, by Tamela Georgi & Lisa Wojna. 

One of the features of this volume, which yours truly appreciated was a quotation attributed to each of the “Great Canadians” at the beginning of each chapter. Margaret Atwood’s reveals the quintessential Canadian trait of doing what one does without making a fuss or drawing attention to one’s self: “I am a writer, and a reader, and that’s about it” (p. 12). Sir John A. MacDonald’s highlights his sense of humour in the face of difficulties: “Be philosophical, and if Fortune empties a chamber pot on your head, just smile and say, ‘We are having a summer shower’” (p. 45).

Brief Observations

To encourage readers of this review to read this volume, here is a tidbit from each of the 12 extraordinary people. 

In addition to being a highly acclaimed novelist, poet, and literary critic, Margaret Atwood has been a peace and social justice advocate for Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Tommy Douglas was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, and may have had his leg amputated. However, a doctor performed an experimental surgery for free, which saved Tommy’s leg. Tommy may have been highly motivated to introduce medicare in Canada because of that free surgery. 

Terry Fox’s 5376 kilometre Marathon of Hope raised $24.7 million dollars for cancer research, and his legacy lives on around the world as people in 60 countries run every year to raise money for cancer research.

In the 1980s, Wayne Gretzky won the NHL Hart Trophy every year for 8 years as most valuable player, as well as the Art Ross Trophy as NHL’s leading scorer 6 years in a row. 

In addition to Sir John A. MacDonald’s political vicissitudes, his 13 month-old son died, his first wife Isabella Clark struggled with her health and eventually died, and his daughter Mary that he had with his second wife, Susan Agnes Bernard, was physically and mentally disabled, and his law practice went bankrupt. All of these factors led him to turn to the bottle. 

Nellie McClung had a life-long passion for reducing the inequalities between girls and boys, women and men, and was one of the famous five who successfully advocated for women to gain the right to vote and be regarded as persons. In addition to being a wife, mother, teacher, and social justice advocate, Nellie was also a successful author, and the first woman to become a member of the CBC board of governors in 1936.

Marshall McLuhan was an intellectual’s intellectual. He earned a BA and PhD from the University of Cambridge, was a professor and expert on the media and communication, and became a Roman Catholic convert. 

Emily Murphy was the first woman magistrate in the British Empire, and a member of the famous five. She was also the first female on the Edmonton Hospital Board, an author who, among other things, wrote popular articles under the pen name, “Janey Canuck.” 

Lester B. Pearson was the son of a Methodist minister. He studied at Oxford University, became a lecturer at the University of Toronto, met and married one of his students, Maryon Moodie, and in addition to becoming Prime Minister of Canada, he was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Louis Riel was a Métis spiritual and political leader. Even though Riel was regarded as a rebel and hanged as a traitor, his legacy lives on today as a hero who was a social justice advocate for his people. 

David Takayoshi Suzuki, even though being of Japanese descent, could not speak Japanese. His fishing trips, exploration of pristine forests and lakes and camping with his father most likely inspired David to learn more about the natural world and become a world-famous scientist and television personality. A long time spokesperson for environmental protection and preservation, David, along with his second wife Tara Cullis, also a scientist, created the David Suzuki Foundation. 

Pierre Elliott Trudeau, in addition to being Prime Minister of Canada, was the son of Jean-Charles Emile Trudeau, a millionaire Montréal lawyer. Pierre travelled widely around the globe. He went on a walking tour of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. 

This volume will inspire those interested in Canadian history. 

Wordless Wednesday - August 27, 2025

                                                             Pow-Wow

                                   For Wordless Wednesday

Weekend in Black & White - August 1, 2025

 

 The 7 Sacred Teachings of Indigenous Peoples

             For Weekend in Black & White

Book Review: Faceless Killers

 

Faceless Killers

Author: Henning Mankell

Publisher: Vintage Books, paperback, 298 pages

Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

The Author 

Henning Mankell, at the time of this volume’s publication, was the prize-winning and internationally acclaimed Swedish author of the Inspector Wallander Mysteries, popular throughout Europe. Eventually, there were film and T.V. adaptations of his Kurt Wallander novels. He was a left-wing political social activist, and devoted much of his time to working with Aids charities in Africa, where he was also director of the Teatro Avenida in Maputo. He was married four times. His last wife, Eva Bergman, is the daughter of film director Ingmar Bergman. Mankell died on 5 October, 2015. 

Kurt Wallander is the protagonist of this novel. He is a police inspector at Ystad, in southern Sweden. Wallander is separated from his wife Mona, and alienated from his daughter Linda. He comes across as a workaholic, and neglects his health—eating too much fast food, not getting enough sleep, and sometimes drinking too much. He feels guilty about not visiting his dad often enough, there is tension between them, and he communicates with his sister who lives in Stockholm only occasionally. 

Wallander and other police officers work together to try and solve the brutal murders of a farm couple, Johannes and Maria Lövgren. The last word Maria uttered before she died was “Foreign.” Wallander questions Lövgren’s farm neighbours, the Nyströms. However, they are unable to share many helpful leads. Wallander and the other police team members are concerned that the media will blow things out of proportion if they discover the murderers are foreigners—they are worried that such information would play into the interests of far right political organisations and individuals opposed to immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees. 

In the meantime, another murder is committed, someone has killed a Somali man. Wallander has a “hunch” about a former policeman who retired early. After Wallander’s surveillance of him, and his association with another chap, the Somali murder is solved relatively quickly. Both of them had connections with far right organisations. Once again the police are worried about how the media would cover the murder, and if their coverage would negatively stereotype the police as having far right political leanings. 

Wallander continues his investigation of the Lövgren murders, with the assistance of other police personnel. They discover that Johannes Lövgren had lived a rather secret life unbeknown to his neighbours, the Nyströms. During World War II, he had made a lot of money selling meat to the Germans. He also had an affair with Ellen Magnusson. Eventually, the police discover, after continuous denials, that Ellen and Johannes had a son, Erik Magnusson. Later, after incorrectly suspecting them, they discovered that neither Ellen nor Erik had anything to do with the Lövgren murders. 

Wallander and other police personnel spend more time hoping that the discovery of a Citroën car would lead them to the murderers. After coming to so many dead-ends in the investigation, Wallander is getting very discouraged and almost ready to give up. Time passes, and nothing significant happens. Then, working with a bank employee, a wee bit of information motivates Wallander that might help in solving the murders. I encourage readers to check out the novel in order to discover how it ends.

World Environment Day June 5th & Climate Crisis

World Environment Day & Climate Crisis

June 5^th marks World Environment Day. Here in Alberta, we have living evidence of climate crisis. Our conservative government continues to dismiss the evidence and pander to the oil industry. Tonight on the news our premier spoke with “forked tongue,” on the one hand she referred to the fires, while on the other hand, she stated the need to build more pipelines to transport Alberta’s oil. She also continues to discourage alternative energy sources and development. 

Meanwhile our forests started burning already in May, as did those in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. On this evening’s newscast, it was reported that 17,000 people have been evacuated from their communities in Manitoba, 7,000 in Saskatchewan, and 5,000 here in Alberta. Currently, it is not known whether the residents of these evacuated communities will have homes to return to, once the fires are no longer burning. Lately, where we live, the wind keeps blowing almost every day, and often the gusts are up to 50 km per hour (in the recent past, windy days were less frequent). If that is also happening up north where the forest fires are burning, then the fires spread faster, and become out of control sooner. In some cases, firefighters have to retreat, since it is too dangerous for them to remain working to extinguish the fires. So from our premier’s and governments point of view, let the forests burn until they no longer exist, as long as we can continue to keep making lots of money from the oil and gas industry—that’s what really matters. Keep living in climate crisis denial until our biodiversity no longer exists to sustain life for human beings and every other species of God’s creation. 

Another example of the destruction of forest fires here in Alberta is the town of Jasper and surrounding area. We drove through Jasper recently, and here are a couple of pictures I took of that destructive fire.

                          The ruins of the Anglican church, destroyed by the Jasper fire

                                                    The burnt out gas pumps in Jasper

So on World Environment Day, I will try not to drive my vehicle. I will ride my bicycle, and enjoy, appreciate, and give thanks for the beauty of God’s creation. More importantly, I will try to live my life every day, as much as possible, in harmony with the environment. As the old familiar axioms go: “Less is more,” and “live more simply that others (humans and other species) may simply live.”For more information on World Environment Day, which is emphasizing actions to reduce plastic pollution, click here.

What about you, dear readers? How will you celebrate World Environment Day? 

Wordless Wednesday - May 7, 2025

 

                                                        Welcome signs of spring

                                       For Wordless Wednesday

Book Review: Ehyeh: A Kabbalah For Tomorrow

Ehyeh: A Kabbalah For Tomorrow

Author: Arthur Green

Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing, paperback, 192 pages, including Preface, Introduction, Epilogue, and Notes

Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

The Author 

At the time of publication, Dr. Arthur Green was Philip W. Lown Professor of Jewish Thought at Brandeis University and dean of the Rabbinical School at Boston’s Hebrew College. Former president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, he is also a rabbi, a historian of Jewish mysticism, and a theologian. He is the author of: These Are the Words: A Vocabulary of Jewish Spiritual Life; Tormented Master: The Life and Spiritual Quest of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav; Seek My Face: A Jewish Mystical Theology; and The Language of Truth: Teaching from the Sefat Emet. He is also co-editor of Your Word Is Fire: The Hasidic Masters on Contemplative Prayer. 

Contents

The volume contains the following: Confession, By Way of a Preface, Introduction: Ehyeh As a Name of God, Part I: Rereading The Old Tradition—consisting of 6 chapters, Part II: Looking Toward Tomorrow—consisting of 6 chapters, Epilogue: To Keep on Learning—Where Do I Go from Here? and Notes. 

Brief Observations 

Rabbi Dr. Arthur Green displays his erudite gifts and skills in this volume. At the time this volume was published, he had studied Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism for 40 years. He is likely one of the most highly respected experts on Jewish mysticism. Yet, he humbly states: “I have not yet come up with any definitive answers” (p. xvi). 

As I read this work, I realized how in-depth Professor Green takes his audience. One of the main reasons he wrote this book was for seekers—both Jewish and non-Jewish, and he states that he still considers himself to be a seeker. He invites them to take their time reading, and engage with him both heart and mind. 

In his introduction, Rabbi Dr. Green begins with the Kabbalah hidden name of God Ehyeh(pronounced eh-yeh), “I shall be.” He suggests that: “The name Y-H-W-H should not be translated “God” or “Lord,” but rather “Is-Was-Will Be” (p. 2). God’s name is more verb than noun. He also explains the kabbalist word keter: “Keter is existence that precedes all definition” (p. 5). 

In “1 Kabbalah Old and New,” Professor Green states the meaning of the word kabbalah, “the received.” Traditions received from previous generations. 

In “2 There Is Only One,” Rabbi Dr. Green addresses The One and the many, emphasizing the oneness of all that exists: “Kabbalah teaches that there is a secret unity of all Being, hidden within the multiplicity and diversity of life as we experience it” (p. 20). It was God’s love that created everyone and everything.

In “3 Torah: Creation’s Truth Revealed,” Professor Green refers to a primordial Torah, Torah revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai, and a new Torah created from life experiences.

In “4 Sefirot: The One and the Ten,” Rabbi Dr. Green explains the Ten Sefirot, with the aid of diagrams. He also includes “A Guided Meditation.” 

Throughout this volume, Professor Green explains a variety of Hebrew words and letters, and their significance. In one section he includes “A Meditation On God’s Name,” (p. 82f). 

In “7 Seeking a Path,” Rabbi Dr. Green states that: “Mystics share with other religious people an intense awareness of Divine Presence and a constant readiness to respond to that presence in both prayer and action” (p. 96). In this chapter, he also includes: “These Are the Things a Person Should Do to Live by Them,” (p. 102f) listing 14 things to practice one’s faith.

In “8 Great Chain of Being: Kabbalah for an Environmental Age,” the author acknowledges the tragic state of creation and humankind, stating: “The changes needed in collective human behavior in order to save us from self-destruction are stupendous” (p. 118). 

In “10 What about Evil?” Professor Green includes a discussion on the biblical stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel, as well as the Holocaust, and the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. He believes that: “To be a Jew is to think about evil. The fact that we have so long been its victims does not mean that we are never its perpetrators” (p. 138). 

In “11 The Life of Prayer,” Rabbi Dr. Green identifies two traditional categories of prayer—spontaneous and liturgical. He also explains a diagram of “The Kabbalistic ‘Amidah” (pp. 160-165). 

In “12 Community: Where Shekhinah Dwells,” the author points out that the 613 commandments are rooted in the original 10 commandments. He also underscores the importance of creativity in order to teach Torah: “The mystical tradition has always been especially open to innovative, sometimes even wildly radical new readings of Torah” (p. 174). 

In “Epilogue: To Keep on Learning—Where Do I Go from Here?” Professor Green mentions several scholars, and recommends some their works. He starts with two of his teacher’s works, Abraham Joshua Heschel: God in Search of Man, and The Sabbath. He also recommends that it is better to learn Hebrew and read sources in that language, than to rely on English translations—something is lost in translation. 

This volume will be very beneficial to both Jewish and Christian scholars, students, and clergy interested in Kabbalah. As a Christian reviewer, I especially appreciated, and was reminded of parallels in Christianity, of the list of 14 things on pp. 102-105.