The Book Launch of the Pierre Berton Biography

[M.T. Al-Mansouri, Ph.D.]

M.T.Al-Mansouri,Ph.D. Ottawa, CANADA: Sunday, December 14th , 2008 at 2.00 to 4.00 p.m, The Carleton University Book Club launched the book entitled” A Biography of Pierre Berton” , which was written by A.B. McKillop, the Chancellor's Professor and Chair of the History Department at Carleton University in Ottawa. A review and reading of a biography of Pierre Berton at the archieves and National Library . The author was questioned by Tom Sherwood Ph.D. Pierre Berton was a Canadian writer and media figure. He was born on July 12, 1920 and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon. Pierre Berton worked in Klondike mining camps during his university years. He spent four years in the army, rising from private to captain/instructor at the Royal Military College in Kingston. He spent his early newspaper career in Vancouver, where at 21 he was the youngest city editor on any Canadian daily. He wrote columns for and was editor of Maclean's magazine, appeared on CBC's public affairs program "Close-Up" and was a permanent fixture on "Front Page Challenge" for 39 years. Pierre Berton was a columnist and editor for the Toronto Star and was a writer and host of a series of CBC programs. He has received over 30 literary awards including the Governor-General's Award for Creative Non-Fiction (three times), the Stephen Leacock Medal of Humour, and the Gabrielle Leger National Heritage Award. Pierre Berton received two Nellies for his work in broadcasting, two National Newspaper awards, and the National History Society's first award for "distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history." For his immense contribution to Canadian literature and history, he has been awarded more than a dozen honourary degrees, is a member of the Newsman's Hall of Fame, and is a Companion of the Order of Canada. He died at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto, reportedly of heart failure, at the age of 84 on November 30, 2004. Below is a selection his bibliography: 1967: The Last Good Year (1997) Attack on Montreal (1995) The Battle of Lake Erie (1994) The Comfortable Pew: An examination of hypocrisy in religion (1965) Farewell to the Twentieth Century (1996) Flames Across the Border (1981) The Great Depression (1990) The Invasion of Canada (1980) Marching As To War (2001) My Times: Living With History 1917-1995 (1995) The Smug Minority (1968) Vimy (1986)