Maple-Washing

      Buy Canadian - It's Not So Easy
   The term "maple-washing" appeared in a headline and it is our subject for today. It was new to me. Apparently "it has been coined in popular discourse to describe the lengths that retailers and producers have gone to make their products appear as Canadian as possible."  
   Misleading marketing is not new, but the surge in food patriotism is and that has led to some questionable labelling indicating that a product is "Canadian". To reduce the angst among those who are agitated about all of this, I will reproduce the relevant paragraph from the maple-washing article, which says the rules relating to food are clear about what constitutes "Canadian." I hope they are clear to you, but I remain confused. For example, although coffee is not grown in Canada, I know there are some Canadian coffee companies, as defined by the rules listed below, but I don't think it would be correct to say that Tim Hortons is a Canadian company.

 "According to the Food and Drugs Act, all food labels must be truthful and not misleading or likely to create a false impression. The rules are clear. 
  "Product of Canada" requires that at least 98 per cent of the ingredients and processing be Canadian. "Made in Canada" means the last substantial transformation took place here, and "Prepared in Canada" refers to food that was processed, packaged or handled domestically, regardless of where the ingredients originated." "Retailers Must Guard Against Maple-Washing," Sylvain Charlebois, London Free Press, July 29, 2025.

   To demonstrate the complexity of all of this, here is a bit from the Consumers Council of Canada, which also supplied me with the definition of maple-washing as quoted above.

   "In one typical social media feed, Canadians can see promotion that Cadbury’s Creme Eggs and Mini Eggs are “proudly made for Canada, in Canada from domestic and imported ingredients”, Breyer’s ice cream is “made in Canada with high quality ingredients and Canadian dairy”. Black Diamond cheese will also promote its Canadian origins and production, and sometimes cheekily notes it is made with 0% American cheese.
   Some consumers will appreciate this presentation and favour those products. 
   Of course, Cadbury is a British company, owned by Mondelez international. Breyers has a production facility in Simcoe, Ontario, but it’s owned by Unilever. Black Diamond has origins and production in Belleville, Ontario, but is owned by Lactalis Canada which is part of the Lactalis Group, headquartered in France."

  I suppose that the subject of whether your grocery item is "Canadian" is moot if you purchased it at either Walmart or Costco. 

Buy Ontarian

  Once again, my post is more confusing than it should have been. So, I will conclude by suggesting that you only buy things made in Ontario and supply the source where you can shop: Ontario Made: Great Things are Made Right Here.  You will even find a Canadian coffee company - Club Coffee Craft Roasters, in Etobicoke. 

Post Script:
   The recent concern about buying Canadian is largely a result of the numerous tariffs which have been levied, unlevied and which are about to be levied again. Ontario began the "Support Ontario" program back when the pandemic was the issue that made people think about reshoring and producing things locally. 
See, for example: "Labatt Promotes Ontario Made Label," Jennifer Bieman, LFP, Oct. 30, 2020:
  "Labatt Breweries of Canada signed on to a provincewide push to promote Ontario businesses forging ahead in the pandemic-battered economy. Ninety-six brands, including London-made Bud Light, Budweiser and Labatt Blue, will display an Ontario Made designation, a marketing initiative to promote local products....The province threw its support behind the program in early July, contributing $500,000. The campaign comes after many Ontario businesses retooled during the first wave of the pandemic to manufacture in-demand products, including masks and other personal protective equipment. Premier Doug Ford announced a second phase of the program Thursday, a consumer directory of participating manufacturers at Supportontariomade.ca."

Bonus Links:
  Send your kid to a Canadian Maple League University.
  Travel Locally- Grassroutes.    

   Whether a non-food item is "Canadian" can be complex as well, and that is why we have law firms. And when such firms are involved, suits follow. Take the case of a company named Moose Knuckles, which surely appears to be Canadian, even if their product was not.
   "In recent years, there has only been one enforcement action brought by the Bureau regarding a “Made in Canada” claim. In 2016, the Bureau filed an application with the Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) alleging that Moose Knuckles had marketed their winter parkas as “Made in Canada,” when they were actually imported from Asia in nearly finished form, only to be finalized with zippers, snaps, fur trims and labels in Canada. Moose Knuckles settled the action by, among other things, agreeing to donate C$750,000 over five years to charity and to clarify that some of its parkas are made with Canadian and imported components."
From: "Maple-Washing: Regulatory and Civil Liability Risks of Calling a Product Canadian," By Laura Weinrib, Jonathan Bitran, Simon Seida, Emily Hazlett and Joshua Hutchinson, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, March 13, 2025.

   It is also noted in the article above that "maple-washing" is sometimes called, "maple glazing".
   For another bonus, search for the meaning of "moose knuckles".  

Along the Enchanted Way

 

An Enchanting Read
   During a deep clean of the study I uncovered this book, stopped cleaning and starting reading it again. I liked it the first time and it remains good and I highly recommend it. I'll try to convince you that you will like it and, if you live close by, come and borrow it.
   If you would like to save time and get on with reading the book, note that it is described above as "captivating" by Partrick Leigh Fermor. That alone should be enough to convince you.
   The book is, however, about a very remote and rural part of Romania, so more convincing may be required. Here is a brief description typical of many that will be found and which relates to the northern region of Maramures in Transylvania: 
   On a green sward, on hills high above the valleys and the villages, I stayed the next night in a sheepfold. The shepherd spread out a blanket on the ground in an open-fronted hut made of hazel wands. What little heat there was , was provided by a fire which burned just inside the opening. Into my hands he placed a warm cup of ewe's milk. As I drank he went out and sat on a rock. Then he picked up a long metal horn, raised it to his lips and blew. The blast echoed round the hills about us. It was the first time I had ever seen a true shepherd's horn being used by a shepherd. I watched him as he sat absorbed in blowing out the plangent notes. When they were be themselves, he told me, up on the hills by the forest it was good to blow on the horn and the hear from far away another shepherd replying and not to feel alone. In front of us the mountains stretched into the distance and across the horizon. (pp.28-9).

   Blacker ends up staying for a very long period and for much of it lives in a small village in a very small house with Mihai who is pictured. 
   I realize that the passage and picture provided will not be enough for some of my readers who prefer more action. If you look more closely at the photo you will notice that Mihai is holding a tumbler of horincă, a type of brandy. 


   Things become more lively when it is consumed and gypsies are encountered and Natalia usually carries a knife.
  Marishka is her sister and Blacker has a relationship with both and a child with the latter. Things are much livelier in the household of the Hungarian patriarch, Atilla, than they are in the hut with Mihai. There is a lot of gypsy music and dancing in the dark forests for those of you who need more than descriptions of cows coming down from the mountains and peasants scything in the meadows.
   Along the Enchanted Way is a slow ramble in Romania that takes place after the Wall falls and the Ceaușescus are executed. Blacker enters a country that was "frozen in time" and wanders without a destination in mind. It is a lyrical idyll in a place that no longer exists as it was and I am sure you will enjoy it.

The Bonus: 
   Patrick Leigh Fermor walked across Europe in the 1930s when he was eighteen. If you enjoy great travel literature you will appreciate the two books about the trip he wrote years later: A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water. I have both if you want to have a look. There is an active website devoted to him and if you visit it you can read the review he wrote of Blacker's book, which appeared originally in the Sunday Telegraph. Here is the link to the review from patrickleighfermor.org. 
   The title, Along the Enchanted Way is from a poem by Patrick Kavanagh:

On Raglan Road on an autumn day I met her first and knew
That her dark hair would weave a snare that I might one day rue;
I saw the danger, yet I walked along the enchanted way,
And I said, let grief be a fallen leaf at the dawning of the day.

  If you would prefer an account by a woman, written about the same time see, Transylvania and Beyond by Dervla Murphy. I also have a copy of that book and wrote about it in a piece titled, oddly enough, On Barfing. She died in 2022 and details are provided in this post: Dervla is Dead.

STRAVA Art

 Drawing While Exercising
   Strava is an app that combines the internet and satellites to track your routes while exercising. Although I had forgotten when I started using it, Strata just sent me an email congratulating me for being with them since July 2021. I am using the free version and it provides me with all the data I need and more. I am just an ordinary octogenarian who starts up Strata when I go for a bike ride and find it interesting that I have gone X miles averaging X mph and have done so X times. Others subscribe for even more features and share and socialize with Strava users around the world. Occasionally, I get an email from them reminding me to connect with one of my sons in Vancouver if I want to compete or boast about my activities. 
  Recently I read about a woman out in that area who creates art while riding. Apparently others have been as well and you likely have seen examples, so I will keep this short for the few other people who didn't know about it.
   

  That is an example of one of my recent simple routes. The next one is slightly more complicated. If you are creative, you likely recognize that you could choose a route that might result in a picture. I can't draw, so this could be an option for me if I wasn't so tired from exercising -- and if I was more creative. 

Ms Janine Strong, out on Vancouver Island, is more creative and here is one example.

 She has also "cycled out giant bananas and long-haired women in New York, Santas in Victoria, penguins in Campbell River, strawberries in San Francisco..."  More examples can be found on her website under "GPS ART."
  Since you probably were aware of this new artistic development I will supply a few sources which may yield something you didn't know. For example, it didn't take long for people to realize that naughty pictures could also be created if one could figure out an anatomical route.

Sources:
   For the article about Ms. Strong, whose website is recommended, see: "Road is a Canvas for two-wheeled artist; Vancouver Island Athlete Merges Creative Flair with Fitness, Drawing Large Scale Images with GPS," J.J. Adams, Vancouver Province, June 17, 2025.
   For the naughty bits, if you must: ‘The Giant Penis Took Shape Easily, as I Passed Through a Village called 'Three Cocks’: Meet the Artist Athletes Drawing with GPS: From the phallus on a Welsh hillside, to a huge portrait of Chappell Roan, these Strava runners, riders and skaters have been busy …" Chris Broughton, The Guardian, May 25, 2025.
  For an early piece: "Runners and Cyclists Use GPS Mapping to Make Art: Fitness apps and the power of live satellite tracking have allowed runners, cyclists and others to draw hearts, animals, birthday wishes — and even homages to Vermeer — across their local landscapes," Claire Fahy, NYT, Sept. 24, 2022.
  Strava appears to be doing okay, if you want to sign up: "Popular Fitness App Strava Clinches Valuation of More Than $2 Billion:  Strava, whose valuation includes debt, says it acquired cycling app Breakaway," Ben Glickman, Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2025.

Lornado

    As you may have noticed, it has been too nice to blog and I am still not ready to do so since I can't think of an easy topic. But, I did run across a sentence in the New York Times on the weekend which began with these words: " I went down to Lornado..." Perhaps I can turn it into a post. 
   Lornado is a good word, I think, and I was unfamiliar with it and had no idea where it was. It sounds rather exotic and one is reminded of the Larry McMurtry novel, The Streets of Laredo.  It is in Ottawa, however, and if W.J. Fields had died there, he still might have said, "I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia." 
   Lornado is the official residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Canada who, this week, is Pete Hoekstra from close-by Michigan. The Time's reporter was on his way there because there is always a big party at Lornado on July 4th. He was curious about how big it would be and very cautious about suggesting that it was not as big as it usually is. You will know that things are not good between our two countries and consorting with the enemy generally frowned upon. It appears that the affair was rather subdued, and the Canadians attending were well behaved. No Bronx cheers were delivered during the Ambassador's remarks.

Lornado the House
   Like the structure on 24 Sussex Drive and many other mansions in Canada, Lornado was built by someone from the United States and the United States purchased the 32 room building and ten acres in 1935. It has been the site of many events and you may have recognized the name from other news stories out of Ottawa.

Lornado the Word
   Apparently the original owner of Lornado, Mr. Soper, was a fan of the novel by R.D. Blackmore. The 19th century work is Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor, and from that you will be able to figure out the derivation of the word, "Lornado."

Lorna Doone the Biscuit
   I was familiar with the words "Lorna Doone", but as a cookie or shortbread, and I am not sure why Nabisco chose the name. It does appear, however, that Nabisco is no longer an American company so it is okay to buy some Lorna Doone shortbreads if you wish. 

 

Source:

   We have learned a lot from this post and credit should be given to, Ian Austen, author of, "Celebrating the U.S. in Canada During Turmoil in the Two Countries' Relations," NYT, July 5, 2025. 
   "The annual Fourth of July party hosted by the U.S. ambassador to Canada on the park-size grounds of his official residence has long been one of Ottawa’s biggest social events.
   But after months of President Trump belittling Canada’s viability as a nation and threatening to use economic chaos to force its annexation as the 51st state, the idea of gathering to celebrate the United States in Canada’s capital was, well, a bit awkward this year....
   The turnout was decidedly smaller than in past years, and the seating and food stations were somewhat scaled down. Many guests who have attended in past years told me they estimated the crowd was about half the usual size, though there were nevertheless a substantial number of people." 
   An attempt at humour by the Ambassador, did not go over well and is not that funny, but it is telling: 

   "The ambassador told his guests that he had been going around saying that Mark Carney, the prime minister, was wrong.

“He keeps saying that Canada’s going to be the fastest-growing economy in the G7,” Mr. Hoekstra said, referring to the Group of 7. “That’s not how this works. America and our president do not like being number two, so we will be the fastest-growing economy. We just passed a Big Beautiful Bill yesterday, which is going to energize our economy.”

   He did add his hope that Canada would become the second-fastest-growing economy within the group of industrialized nations."

Factlet (18)

 
Menopause and Mares
  "Factlets" are usually short and this one should be. The subject of menopause is not one which I should "appropriate" and the part about mares may be known by most women and not need much in the way of explanation. To ensure brevity I will also not try to explain why I was reading an article about menopause. It is in it that I found this startling (to me) statistic which is our Factlet for today. 
   In 2002, a medical study suggested that there could be some risks for postmenopausal women who were taking estrogen to reduce the conditions associated with menopause. Here is the startling part, particularly the bolded parenthetical portion: 
    "The findings made global headlines, and millions of women who had been prescribed estrogen-based drugs quit them on the spot. (Another consequence was that tens of thousands of factory-farmed horses were no longer needed for their urine; many were sent to slaughter.) Hormone-therapy research went into a tailspin, although, even at the time, a more thorough reading of the numbers revealed a far less scary picture."
   For any male readers who may not have been aware of the source for the estrogen, here is some additional background: 
   "When it was discovered that estrogen could be supplied not just by expectant women but by expectant horses, commercial production of the hormone took off. Premarin, approved by the F.D.A. in 1942 to treat menopausal symptoms, soon dominated the market, its innocuous-seeming name barely disguising its primary ingredient, pregnant mares’ urine. By the end of the twentieth century, Premarin was consistently the first or second most prescribed drug in the United States, beating out medications for common ailments like high blood pressure and diabetes, with an estimated forty per cent of women of postmenopausal age taking it or an alternative estrogen formulation."
   The source for this information is an article in The New Yorker, which explains why I happened upon it. Given that the fact checkers at The New Yorker are known to be overly diligent, I wasn't concerned about the accuracy of this Factlet. But, for those of you who don't trust publications published in New York, I will provide a couple of sources from the hinterlands. As well, I will provide the citation for the original article which offers a literature review of books about menopause since apparently many women don't know much about it either.
The Bonus: 
  I couldn't resist providing this: those doctors and clinicians studying this subject are known as the "Menoposse."
Sources: 
   "Menopause is Having a Moment: If You've Got Ovaries, You'll Go Through It: So Why Does Every Generation Think It's the First to Have Hot Flashes," Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, March 3, 2025.
   "When Menopause, Horse Urine and Ethics Intersect: Generation Now: You May Be Surprised at How Horses are Linked to Women's Health," Shelby Watson-Hampton, Farm Progress, May 2, 2025.
   "Menopause, Horses, and the Industry of Death,' Gregory McNamee, ExploreBritannica.com, N.D.
For additional Factlets: A Few More Factlets. 

Society in America - Book Series

  Eight U.S. Cities at Mid-Century 
   Those interested in collecting books published in a series, or readers curious about the social history of eight American cities around 75 years ago, will find these publications by E.P. Dutton worth considering.
   I suppose I should have led with the adjectives used to describe the citizens in six of the cities to attract your attention. Here they are and do you think you can match the adjective to a city without looking: "Amiable", "Lusty", "Proper", "Romantic", "Serene", and "Spectacular"? Apparently those living in Memphis and Washington are not so easily characterized.
  The purpose of the publisher was to “to portray the individual characteristics, to underscore the idiosyncrasies, and to trace the growth of sectional societies with special emphasis on local traditions and on the personalities who embodied them.”  You will likely recognize the title of the first book on the list below and will know about the author of it for other reasons.
  You will also probably associate Babe Ruth and Mencken with Baltimore, but not realize it was also the birthplace of Bromo-Seltzer. 
   It is doubtful that you know about Fanny Trollope's bizarre bazaar in Cincinnati in the 1830s, but the book is worth our attention for that reason alone. 
   All of these books are available via Amazon or AbeBooks, but before you buy them, you should know that some are fully available on the Internet Archive. That is true, as well for Fanny's thoughts which are found in "Domestic Manners of the Americans", which is also purchasable as a paperback from Penguin. If you live in London, The Proper Bostonians is in storage up at Western and more books by Amory are found there and are mentioned below.

The Proper Bostonians, Cleveland Amory.
From: "Books" Boston's Closed Corporation," Time, Oct. 20, 1947.
"In The Proper Bostonians, young (30) Cleveland Amory, a Social Registerite himself, has set out to examine his peers. The book is the first of a series which Dutton will publish about U.S. society (others to come: New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Santa Fe). Culled largely from First Family writings and conversations with Beacon Hill contemporaries, Amory’s smoothly phrased findings are not likely to ruffle the poise of the Cabots and the Lowells. Still, many a less proper Bostonian will find much here to delight him."

The Amiable Baltimoreans, Francis F.F. Beirne.

From: The blurb of the JHU Press reissue of the book in 1984. "The first umbrella in America and a Washington monument that predates the one in the nation's capital were raised in Baltimore. A renowned beauty of the city, Betsy Patterson, married Jerome Bonaparte, but was forbidden by her brother-in-law, Napoleon, from ever setting foot in France. A century later, Wallis Warfield, another Baltimorean, made her own assault on European royalty. Baltimore is the city of Babe Ruth and H.L. Mencken and the final resting-place of Edgar Allan Poe. "The gastronomic metropolis of the Union," according to Oliver Wendell Holmes, it is also the home of Bromo-Seltzer.

First published in 1951, The Amiable Baltimoreans presents 250 years of anecdotal history about the city—its buildings, its institutions, its customs, and most of all, its people. Informative, amusing, and sometimes discomforting, it offers an incomparable look into the city's past and revealing insight into the way it seemed to one informed observer thirty years ago."

The Serene Cincinnatians, Alvin F. Harlow. From: "Book Captures Cincinnati's Quirks at an Interesting Time for the City: Our History," Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, Jan. 22, 2023.
"The publication of the history book "The Serene Cincinnatians" by Alvin F. Harlow in October 1950 was the talk of the town. Shillito's department store and John G. Kidd & Son booksellers advertised to preorder copies for $4.50 in the local newspapers. A display of the book at the Cincinnati Public Library – that's the Old Main Library at 629 Vine St. – filled six street windows and several cases in the lobby. The Enquirer and the Cincinnati Post ran articles on the book's release, as well as reviews and commentary on the response. That's a lot of coverage for a history book....

The New York-based author spent months visiting local libraries, historical societies and The Enquirer, as well as hours in conversation with old-timers who filled his notebook with intimate knowledge and anecdotes. Cincinnati had a reputation for being old-fashioned. Harlow opened the book with the city's indignation over the then-recent coverage of the opening of the Terrace Plaza Hotel in 1948. The milestone modernist hotel was revolutionary for its time, yet Time magazine began its story: "Dowdy, old-fashioned Cincinnati gets a new hotel this week." Cincinnati was a place where you could still find chimney sweeps in 1950, a city that basked in its traditions, Harlow wrote. Yet, it also was a city of firsts – the first airmail by balloon, the first professional fire department, the first and only railroad to be owned by a municipality, the Cincinnati Southern Railway....

What sets Harlow's work apart were those gossipy anecdotes that reveal Cincinnatians may not have always been serene, but they were real people....

Details you won't find in other books. One highlight was Harlow's description of Frances Trollope's infamous bazaar. The Englishwoman had come to Cincinnati in 1828, drawn by the young city's reputation for culture, and hoped to make her fortune with her unique marketplace on Third Street near Broadway. There is continued fascination with this curiosity. Harlow called Trollope's Bazaar "a weird creation, predominantly Moorish-Arabesque, as one critic described it, with touches of Gothic and God-knows-what. "In its semi-basement was an elegant coffee-house and bar, the floor above was the store, with an ice cream and oyster parlor, also elegant, back of it, while the whole top floor was a ballroom ... "In the store, she stocked jewelry, pictures, laces, bric-a-brac and articles of virtu (rare objects), which she bought mostly at retail prices and marked up, naively supposing that in so colorful a setting and from a cultured Englishwoman, the dazzled bourgeoisie would buy at any price. But they did not." After the failure of the bazaar, Trollope returned to England and wrote a scathing account of her time here in "Domestic Manners of the Americans" (1832). Harlow spent several pages throughout the book countering many of Trollope's criticisms, thus "The Serene Cincinnatians" serves as something of a rebuttal some 118 years later."

Memphis Down in Dixie, Shields Mcilwaine. From: “Memphis, Tenn., Past and Present,” Turner Catledge, New York Times, June 6, 1948. “Mr. Mcilwaine struck it rich for both his regional thesis (that the way to understand America is region by region) and his story-telling ability when he dug into the past and present of Memphis, Tennessee. For Memphis is such a mine of anecdote, romance and important history that one can pick and choose as he pleases, and then organize his total story in a manner to prove almost anything, or simply to be entertaining.”

The Romantic New Orleanians, Robert Tallant. From: Kirkus Reviews, Jan. 1, 1949: "Fifth in the series launched by the tremendously successful The Proper Bostonians- and as predictably good as one knew a New Orleans' book by Robert Tallant would be. With the wealth of first rate writing that has been done about that provocatively fascinating city, it is astonishing that he has found so much new to be said- and, for the greater part, succeeded in making it interesting even to the outsider. For actually it is virtually a Burke's Peerage translated into terms of New Orleans' inner circle. The Creole aristocracy, unlike that of any other place, depended not a whit on worldly goods- and despite the relatively small number of Creoles in a preponderantly American city, the French, and to a lesser extent the Spanish flavor, the mores and traditions of the old Creole conservative society, the attitude towards women, the pace of living- all are still permeated by that tiny element. New Orleans and her people are portrayed in profiles of personalities of the past; in flavorsome bits about the balls, the carnivals, the snobbery, the clubs, in genealogy spiced with gossip; in colorful passages of the city's history; in the growth away from- and back to- the French Quarter."

The Spectacular San Franciscans, Julia Cooley Altrocchi.

For a lukewarm review see: "West Coast City; THE SPECTACULAR SAN FRANCISCANS. By Julia Cooley Altrocchi. Society in American Series. 398 pp. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. $4.50, by Jack Foisie, New York Times, July 24, 1949.

The Lusty Texans of Dallas, John William Rogers. From Kirkus Reviews, Jan. 1, 1950 "Seventh in the Society in America Series, this more than flatteringly pictures the growth of a cluster of cabins on a river bank into a modern metropolis -- a progress which has not smothered either the individuality or the initiative of the city or its citizens. It is a story that encompasses all aspects of this development -- geographical, economic, social and fashionable, cultural, religious, educational and informative. It highlights the heritage of the far past, takes the story from the arrival of John Neely Bryan and his one man community which was incorporated in 1856 as Dallas, and carries on its history as a frontier town that grew up by not following the pattern of other southwest towns. From the conventions and customs of the early days on to those of today, with the folklore and legend given full play, this emphasizes the isolation that brought independence, the particular climate and tradition of life that effected the people who have lived, and who still live, there. A pretty insistent volume, this." See also: “Texas Culture,” Washington Post, Mar. 25, 1951 and “Deep in the Mind of Texas,” Hoffman Birney, New York Times, Jan.21, 1951

Washington Cavalcade, Charles Hurd. From: “Hurd Tackles a Tough One in This City: Washington Cavalcade,” Sterling North, Washington Post, Jan. 18, 1948 “Hurd has written a gay, shallow, non-stop gossip column dealing with costumes, customs and eccentricities which might have been subtitled: ‘From Dolly Madison to Dolly Gann – A Tempest in a Teapot."

Post Script:

In 1952 Dutton celebrated its 100th birthday. They also published, with J.M.Dent & Sons of London, the Everyman's Library. The New York Times contains this article which provides these interesting tidbits: "The record best-seller of the company was the controversial "Under Cover," written before World War II by an author who signed the name John Roy Carlson. It sold 650,000 copies in ten months. Next on the Dutton best-seller list have been the books of A. A. Milne. "When We Were Very Young," "Winnie-the-Pooh," "Now We Are Six" and "The House at Pooh Corner," published in that order, have sold altogether 1,500,000 copies. In 1850 a book selling 3,000 copies at 75 cents to $1 was a best seller. The sales requirement has risen to about 50,000 today, Mr. Macrae estimated, and the price has risen to $3 to $6. As long as the public refuses to buy worthy books in large numbers, he added, the price will have to stay up. The best seller must help pay for the worthy, poor-selling book." "E.P. Dutton Marks Its 100th Birthday..." Jan. 4, 1952.

The Bonus: Even if you were born in this century, you may have recognized the name 'Cleveland Amory' and he may be more interesting to you than the books mentioned above. He wrote others, including The Last Resorts, which includes a chapter on "Palm Beach" - a popular place right now and known as a sunny place for shady people. You may have heard of him in relation to animal rights and more about his involvement is easily found. He appears on YouTube and here is an example: Man Kind? "In 1974 the US Fish and Wildlife Service produced a 26 minute documentary short featuring an interesting interview with the great writer, critic and animal advocate, Cleveland Amory, who has just completed a book entitled "Man KInd?" about how badly wildlife is treated. Amory started The Fund for Animals." Source:

For more details about the "Society in America" book series see:

Series Americana: Post Depression-Era Regional Literature, 1938-1980: A Descriptive Bibliography: Including Biographies of the Authors, Illustrators, and Editors, by Carol Fitzgerald.

The Good Life

   In the past, Mulcahy's Miscellany has offered book suggestions for those interested in intellectual self-improvement and here is another one (for earlier examples, see: "More Aids for Autodidacts" and "MIT Press - Additional Aids for Autodidacts.")
   Those wishing to live a "good life" are likely surprised when they look for books in a library and do not find them grouped under the subject heading, "the good life". Those who rely on Wikipedia, probably give up and end up watching "The Good Life", the British TV series to which Wikipedia directs them. Searching for books about such a nebulous concept is difficult, but this suggestion from the research staff at MM may help. 
  Simply go to the website of Oxford University Press where books about the good life are easily found. A dozen of them are listed below along with the brief description provided by the OUP. 
  Given that June is "Indigenous History Month", and to provide Canadian content, a bonus book is included. It is published by JCharlton which is located in Vernon, B.C.

                                    A Beginner's Baker's Dozen

1. The Good Life

Unifying the Philosophy and Psychology of Well-Being

Michael A Bishop

Proposes a new approach to the study of well-being and an original theory of well-being

Redefines Positive Psychology and connects it to the philosophical study of well-being

Explains philosophy and positive psychology's respective literatures on well-being in understandable, straightforward, and concise language, bringing them into dialogue in innovative and productive ways

2. A Good Life on a Finite Earth

The Political Economy of Green Growth

Daniel J. Fiorino

Studies in Comparative Energy and Environmental Politics

Provides an accessible overview of ecological policy

The first book to offer a systematic analysis of the concept of green growth

Disrupts the assumed conflict between economic and environmental goals, arguing that they can be complementary

3. A Guide to the Good Life

The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy

William B. Irvine

A refreshing presentation of Stoicism that shows how this ancient philosophy can still direct us toward a better life.

Uses psychological insights and the practical techniques of the Stoics, offering a roadmap for anyone seeking to avoid the feelings of chronic dissatisfaction

Readers learn how to minimize worry, how to let go of the past and focus their efforts on the things they can control, and how to deal with insults, grief, old age, and the distracting temptations of fame and fortune

Shows readers how to become thoughtful observers of their own lives.

4. Happiness and the Good Life

Mike W. Martin

Integrates philosophy with the new branch of psychology called "positive psychology"

Draws substantially on fiction, memoir, and film

Accessible to a wide audience in practical and applied ethics

5. A Minimally Good Life

What We Owe to Others and What We Can Justifiably Demand

Nicole Hassoun

Explores and asks what we owe to others as a basic minimum

Challenges opposing accounts of the basic minimum and the limits of our obligations

Argues that concern for our common humanity requires helping others live minimally good lives

6. Morality and the Good Life

Edited by Thomas L. Carson and Paul K. Moser

7. Nature, Reason, and the Good Life

Ethics for Human Beings

Roger Teichmann

Presents an original and provocative account of ethical thought

Engages with a range of philosophical disciplines, including philosophy of mind and philosophy of language

Critiques contemporary trends of thought that exist both in academic philosophy and in wider culture

Written for a broad readership, beyond as well as within academic philosophy

8. Organizational Ethics and the Good Life

Edwin Hartman

The Ruffin Series in Business Ethics

In this book, Edwin Hartman argues that the real world of experience, rather than abstract theory, is the source of principles for business ethics. Hartman explains how ethical principles derive from what employees learn in good organizations and argues that an ethically good company is one that creates the good life for those who work in it.

9. Plato on Pleasure and the Good Life

Daniel Russell

Daniel Russell develops a fresh and original view of pleasure and its pivotal role in Plato's treatment of value, happiness, and human psychology. This is the first full-length discussion of the topic for fifty years, and Russell shows its relevance to contemporary debates in moral philosophy and philosophical psychology. Plato on Pleasure and the Good Life will make fascinating reading for ancient specialists and for a wide range of philosophers.

10. Pleasure and the Good Life

Concerning the Nature, Varieties, and Plausibility of Hedonism

Fred Feldman

11. Pursuing the Good Life

100 Reflections on Positive Psychology

Christopher Peterson

Compiles short essays by one of the founders and leaders of positive psychology

At times humorous, at times serious, Peterson deftly traverses a varied landscape of emerging research, personal perspectives, and big ideas

12. The Quest for the Good Life

Ancient Philosophers on Happiness

Edited by Oyvind Rabbas, Eyjolfur K. Emilsson, Hallvard Fossheim, and Miira Tuominen

New perspectives on a key philosophical topic

Illuminates the complexity of ancient ethics in fascinating ways

Shows how the ideas of ancient thinkers are relevant to contemporary debate

The Bonus and CANCON: 

13. Pimatisiwin : The Good Life, Global indigenous knowledge Systems, Settee, Priscilla.

   "Drawing upon her own life, scholarly work and an in-depth review of the relevant literature, Priscilla Settee delivers a perspective of what it means to be alive while, at the same time, furthering Indigenous-based struggles for decolonization, social justice and intellectual thought." For more see:

"Mino-Pimatisiwin is an Indigenous traditional teaching that describes how the emotional, physical,mental, and spiritual parts of a person, or the heart, body, mind, and spirit, come together in balance to lead the good life. This is a lifelong endeavour where one comes to understand how to live in relationship with oneself and others as part of the natural world with respect, reciprocity, and interconnectedness. The teaching and understanding of Mino-Pimatisiwin is deepened through continuing work with Indigenous communities, Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers. Through this ongoing work, these perspectives and Indigenous phrases expressing values have become a part of how we describe the good work we do for all students in Manitoba." From: "Mino-Pimatisiwin: The Good Life," Province of Manitoba.