This photo biography with commentary underlines the special relationship Bobby Hull had/has with the City of Chicago, as that city's most revered sports icon. The fact that his reconcilliation with the Black Hawks organization contributed to that franchises renaissance is remarkable, considering that he left the team in 1972 under less than amicable circumstances. Chicago sports fans who were not even born when he left are aware his legendary excellence as hockey's best Left Wing Forward of all time.
One has to wonder though; who really commissioned this book? Hull or the Black Hawks?
Hull emphasizes the greatness of the Black Hawk organization throughout the book, fair enough. But the fact that he makes no mention at all of the great hockey he played in Winnipeg with his Hot Line teammates, Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg is troubling.
Hull is justifiably proud of his numerous 50+ goal seasons in Chicago and the 1961 Stanley Cup, but what about the numerous 50+ goal seasons as a Jet, including that one remarkable 77 goal season? What about the two AVCO Cup Championshps? What about scoring 3 goals and collecting 2 assists in the Jets 5-3 upset of the Soviet National Team? What about being the premier player in the 1974 WHA/Soviet Summit Series?
Bobby Hull as a Black Hawk is just part of his legacy. This book should have included his contribution to the game as a Winnipeg Jet.
Once again, it seems, the NHL is doing it's best to erase the memory of that league. In much the same way Stalin removed comrades from photographs after he had them "taken care of",the NHL is ensuring any historial reference of the Winnipeg Jets in the WHA and NHL is being removed.

Mary-Ann Kirkby is a wonderful writer. Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down. Reading her memoir is like reminiscing with a close friend. Having grown up in Winnipeg, I often saw the Hutterites in the Sears and Woolco department stores, and wondered about these odd people who looked like they stepped out of the 18th century. My grandparents knew a lot about the Hutterites, given our family's German Baptist heritage. Looking back, it is amusing to think the the Hutterites would have thought of my very strict, religious grandparents as being "English". Mary-Ann's account gave me a pretty good idea of what life was probably like for my great great grandparents in the German farming communites in Poland and Russia. All in all, a wonderful book, probably the best I have ever read.

The first Valiants were uniquely styled vehicles that would run forever. Unlike the offerings from GM (the Corvair, Tempest, F-85 and Special, and Ford, the Falcon, all of which self destructed within 2 or 3 years after rolling off the assembly line) the Valiant was a durable car that was well nigh indestructible; I remember the streets of Winnipeg, Manitoba swarming with these cars in the mid 1970s, well worn but still running.
It is interesting to read the foreign reviews, especially the British reviews, which are bemused with the fact the car is considered a compact in America; the Brits thought it was a rather large car.
All in all, this is an excellent book, reminding car enthusiasts that forgotten cars such as the Valiant deserve recognition.

A MUST HAVE for any true car fanatic; especially for anyone who favours genuine American automobiles.
Mercury has somewhat of a reputation of being a marketing after thought, in that the Ford Motor Company never did figure out how to sell the car. Yet is it quite apparent that when Ford marketed the car as sort of a junior Lincoln that the marque enjoyed it's greatest sale successes. The 50s and 60s were the best years for the marque, because it had an image of being a Premium American Road Car. Only later, in the 70s and 80s, when Ford decided to badge engineer such abominations such as the Bobcat and Lynx, did the Mercury brand begin to lose it's lustre.
This reviewer especially favours models such as the Turnpike Cruiser, Marauder, Monterey Breezeway, and Montclair; cars that were 100% American and made no pretense of trying to be anything but but. No Euro-car "wannabes" here !!

An interesting read, from someone who is obviously Pro-American. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but the author is far too optimist about America's future. He mentions that America's vast industrial capacity will enable it to win future wars. What industrial capacity? At present, the Americans have outsourced most of their industry to Mexico and China.
As for his predictions about Europe, he ignores that fact that Muslim immigration, combined with a negative birth rate of Europeans, will result in Europe becoming an Islamic entity, possibly as soon as the year 2050. This will spell disaster for the United States, which is the only nation that supports Israel.
His premise that America's future conflicts will be about mineral rights is way off base; America's future conflicts will be over it's unilateral support of the State of Israel.

This photo-documentary proves that when a people are determined to rebuild their lives, they will roll up their sleeves and get to work. The example of the re-birth of West Germany from the ruins and rubble of the Second World War should be thrown in the face of those nations that whine and complain about Western, ie USA Imperialism. Unlike a lot of nations at present who have been receiving billions of dollars in American aid, yet still are backward due to their incessant "perpetual victim" state of mind, the Germans after 1945 realized they had the opportunity for a fresh start, and they "seized the moment". Unfortunately, history does not always repeat itself. There are far too many nations and people at present who blame their backward state on the West, yet are too inept and/or lazy to improve their lot. This book proves the Germans should be commended for what they have accomplished.

An excellent video, although an updated version would be appreciated as a few more seasons have gone by....
I'll bet most NFL fans have no idea that American football has it's origins in Canada ie the two game series in 1874 between Harvard and McGill, in which Harvard decided to adopt Canadian rugby rules, which then gradually evolved into todays Amercian football game.
As for the subject of the video, the venerable Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a storied history that goes back to the 1930s, when the team adopted the Blue Bombers name, and even further back to 1880 when the team was known as the Winnipeg's.
In an era when there are so many expansion teams in all sports, that have absolutely no history or tradition, the history of the Blue Bombers is remarkable; American football fans should study the history of the Canadian Football League; they would be shocked to discover the NFL is a relative "new comer" to football !!

All in all, a good video production that explains that great Canadian prairie phenomena known as "Rider Pride". The Saskatchewan Roughriders are the CFL's version of the Green Bay Packers, that is to say, a small town (and province) that rabidly supports a Big League sports franchise. Some might question whether or not the Canadian Football League is a major league entity; I contend that it is in that the game is unique and has country wide support; just because there are no American teams does not relegate it to minor league status. The video points out that the team has support all over Canada. Often when one goes to a BC Lions game when Regina is in town, there are more Green Rider fans in the stands than there are Lions fans. The same holds true in Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, etc. One wonders what the population of Saskatchewan might be if all these people hadn't left the province !!
Note however, that is an older production, there should be an update to include the last few seasons, including the Riders Grey Cup victory in 2007.

Russ Gourluck did an excellent job with this book. For anyone interested in the history of one's hometown, this photo album with interesting commentary is a "must-have". Even those of us who moved away and haven't been back to Winnipeg in years will view the pictures in this book and sense that they were back home almost instantly.
I remember the day the Tribune ceased publication; everyone was scrambling to find a copy of the last edition of the newspaper as it sold out the moment the bad news was announced. It is hard to believe that was 28 years ago !!

What is most notable about the Plymouth marque is it's gradual decline, from the class leader in the late 1950s, to it's "also ran" status by the late 1970s. It is always interesting to read auto magazine articles from the past, as one gets a sense of what the car was like in it's time. It seems the Fury went from being a vehicle that was far ahead in engineering (in the 50s and early 60s) as compared contemporary Fords and Chevrolets to one that could not hold a candle to either of those brands by the late 1970s.
This book also re prints some British road tests; it is always interesting to note what the Brits thought of any "Yank Tank". In the Fury tests, they were generally impressed with the roominess, ride comfort and effortless cruising, while less than impressed with the relatively poor braking performance and heavy petrol consumption.