MISSION OF FOLLY is a candid report on Canada's participation in America's 'War onTerror' in Afghanistan. Laxer explores the policy vacuum that resulted in Canadian troopsbeing sent to fight a war that would last longer than any previous Canadian allied engagement.With passion and perspicacity he details the motives underlying the invasion and occupationof Afghanistan, outlines the recent history of that troubled nation, and challenges the assumptionthat infringement of human rights is sufficient justification for Canada's involvement.Laxer's familiarity with U.S. and Canadian global policy provides the backdrop for a concisestudy that will be of interest to a broad readership. JAMES LAXER is a Professor of Political Science at York University in Toronto. An award-winning author and a former Toronto Star columnist, Laxer is the author of twenty-one books, including "Perils of Empire" and "Red Diaper Baby: A Boyhood in the Age of McCarthyism." Click the 'Review Quote' link below to read reviews and endorsements of "Mission of Folly"

With the onset of the current economic crisis, one chapter in the economic history of the world is ending and a new one is beginning. What role will Canada play in this vastly altered world?
James Laxer examines the anatomy of the crash: the forces that have controlled the global system and the forces that have the capacity to usher in a new global system as the U.S.-centred age of globalization comes to an end. He explores what needs to be done to combat the crash in Canada, and poses the questions we all want to have answered. What comes next for the global economy, and what does this mean for Canada? Where will we fit in? Is an egalitarian economic future possible? What could an economics for humanity look like?
A reflective and useful treatise on where we go from here, "Beyond the Bubble" is a must-read by one of Canada's best-known political commentators.

Longlisted for the Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award Two hundred years after his death, the Shawnee chief Tecumseh is still considered one of the greatest leaders of North America's First Peoples. This richly illustrated biography tells the story of his remarkable life, culminating in the War of 1812. Tecumseh, born in 1768, lived during turbulent times: the thirteen colonies revolted against British rule, becoming the United States in 1776, and settlers had begun to push westward, rapidly encroaching on the traditional lands of the First Peoples. Tecumseh realized that unless the tribes came together to form a great confederacy, they would never be able to hold onto their land. And so he began to travel great distances, encouraging many tribes to join forces with him against the Americans. On June 18, 1812, the US declared war on Great Britain. Tecumseh sided with the British, hoping to create an independent native state north of the Ohio River. He developed a magnetic friendship with Major General Isaac Brock, commander of the British troops in Upper Canada, and together they took Fort Detroit. Tecumseh and Brock agreed that one of the goals of their alliance should be to restore lands that had been taken from native peoples. But shortly afterwards Brock was killed in the Battle of Queenston Heights. Tecumseh rallied those loyal to him and fought on relentlessly, but was killed in the Battle of Moraviantown in 1813. Tecumseh's dreams were never fulfilled, but he remains a symbol of justice for the First Peoples of North America. Tecumseh will be published on the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. The book includes an epilogue, a timeline, a glossary and maps.

This book explores today’s global dependency on oil and reveals the sobering realities of the relationship between oil, politics and money. An excellent introduction for young adults. Oil, our main source of energy, underlies the world's economy. In the twentieth century its availability and relatively low price allowed for the industrial growth and development of the world's leading economies. The new rapidly developing giants, India and China, want access to the same possibilities. But today we know that cheap, easily accessible oil supplies are dwindling, and we are beginning to recognize the true cost to the world's environment of our profligate use of this form of energy. As Oil shows, a substantial portion of the world's remaining supply lies in countries whose interests are not identical with those of the major industrial powers. "[The Groundwork Guides] are excellent books, mandatory for school libraries and the increasing body of young people prepared to take ownership of the situations and problems previous generations have left them." -- Globe and Mail