Greetings from Ottawa!!!

When I was a 'tween, I wanted to be a historian. I was encouraged by family members and great teachers. I wish more of them were still here to see this. quillandquire.com/omni/mark-bo...

Congratulations to Canada's finest historian. He has detail and drive. He loves his country. We need him so badly right now.

One can hope...

Spinels are a girl's best friend: I am into fossils, not gems, but I do love pretty things and I keep an eye on what's happening in the world of precious stones. Here's my take, including a warning about Trump and the gem market: open.substack.com/pub/markbour...

A media partnership with an AI company is on the same level as inviting six people with bubonic plague into your bed.

"It is possible, Noakes notes, that Alexander nursed a grievance against Pugliese for his critical reporting on the Afghanistan mission or other episodes, such as Alexander’s championing while in office of the controversial “Victims of Communism” monument"

The Biblioasis Holiday Book Guide: Part III open.substack.com/pub/digitalb...

It's important to remember, and Mr. Wark clearly makes this point, that David Pugliese did absolutely nothing wrong: The Robar case gets weirder open.substack.com/pub/wesleywa...

This is a great and perceptive book. The guy’s weird and he always will be. He does not know how to be.

This video is worth watching. It's an overview of the situation of young men, but it's not manosphere. I wish he had gone into the social stigma attached to men who read and think, this anti-nerd trope that has driven three generations of young men away from books. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnA9...

A good read. Fair-minded but no excuses

As Pierre Poilievre's leadership goes on the block, it's a good time to read Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre. I guarantee you'll learn a lot about what makes him tick. You have time to read it and give it to someone for Christmas. It's available everywhere. www.biblioasis.com/shop/new-rel...

I've posted pictures of some of my fossils to Instagram. www.instagram.com/ontariotrilo...

I want Dr. Gilbert's book: www.skeptic.com/article/nure...

You think this week's snow was bad? Read about the Great Lakes hurricane blizzard that killed 300 people. open.substack.com/pub/markbour...

When confessions are not confessions open.substack.com/pub/markbour...

Probably the best, most accurate thing written about modern Canada this year, though I have little faith in Carney. Ingenuity and creative thinking are not his strong points. As for the environment, "Values" seems like a bad joke. dgardner.substack.com/p/lets-go-ca...

Archaeologists find a Roman fossil collector's trilobite. The emperor Augustus was an avid fossil collector and opened the world's first paleontology museum. archaeology.org/issues/novem...

Just finished Big Men Fear Me, a biog of the forgotten proto fascist who put the & in Globe & Mail. Huge amount of digging in a sparky style, Mark Bourrie @drmarkbourrie.bsky.social proves the advantage of biography in telling history - of a booze soaked political era most of us know nothing about.

A must read!

Time to re-up one of the great quotes of all time...while the Totenkopf is in the discourse. www.huffpost.com/entry/attemp...

Did all of these people vote last November?

See what critics are saying about Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre: www.biblioasis.com/shop/new-rel...

Columbus, 'Indians,' and the Guanches dwhauthor.wordpress.com/2018/10/08/c...

"If we are to survive as a country, fending off the influence and threats of the United States and overcoming the internal forces of division, we need to understand how we got to the place where we are." Read the Full Q&A with Mark Bourrie on our website now: dafoefoundation.ca/news/

ICE's contempt for the law has no bounds. newrepublic.com/post/201394/...

My "lost" book: The Race to the New World dwhauthor.wordpress.com/2025/10/05/m...

What military planners, historians and politicians rarely tell you: most of the material created during pre-war arms races is rarely important and is often useless after the first few months of a major conflict. Most of the officer corps washes out, too. open.substack.com/pub/gregmacn...

This is #Blitzkrieg Maybe look it up, y'all...

I bought this book when it came out and I got a lot out of it.

Also, big publishers want you to be famous before they sign you. It's almost impossible for a non-fiction writer to become household names in Canada the way Berton and Newman were. So we see a lot of ghost-written pap with the names of politicians and hockey players. thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...

The Indictment of Charles I: .... Charles Stuart, the now King of England... hath had a wicked design totally to subvert the ancient and fundamental laws and liberties of this nation, and in their place to introduce an arbitrary and tyrannical government...

Most rural people get their mail from post office boxes. Household mail delivery is an urban thing. We could use a book rate and a new look at how it competes with Amazon.

Never forget, Canada, approximately 95% of the Counties bordering Canada voted for Trump. I did a thread last month about it. You can look up the voting maps on Politico to see the States' Counties bordering your province. Now they're crying for our money - dressed as friendship. #ElbowsUp!!!

J.W. Dafoe was the most powerful and respected editor in Canada, turning the Winnipeg Free Press into one of the great newspapers of the world. So proud that my book Crosses in the Sky: Jean de Brebeuf and the Destruction of Huronia made the J.W. Dafoe Prize shortlist. dafoefoundation.ca/news/

More distractions

So very, very sad that we have lost the brilliant Elaine Dewer.

We are proud to announce the 2025 J.W. Dafoe Book Prize Longlist! Congratulations to all of the phenomenal authors on the list. Keep in touch, to learn more about each of these titles. We will be announcing the five shortlisted books on September 25th and the winner on October 14th.

"A riveting chronicle of the battle for chess supremacy & the brilliant, eccentric, extremely online grandmasters changing an ancient game." Can’t wait to read this, from multi-award winning writer (aaaaand top three all-time favourite brother) Jordan Himelfarb.

Maurene Comey, the lead prosecutor in the Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffery Epstein saga, is now suing Pam Bondi, the DOJ and the Office of the President for her unlawful firing. Maurene has all the receipts.

I'll be at the Eden Milld book festiva; Sunday, talking about democracy.

In the latest Biblioasis awards news: Mark Bourrie's CROSSES IN THE SKY made the J.W. Dafoe Book Prize longlist! Congrats to @drmarkbourrie.bsky.social 🎉 dafoefoundation.ca/2025/09/02/j... Keep an eye out for some fun highlights of the longlisted books on the @jwdafoebookprize.bsky.social socials!

Fox News had to pay 3/4 of a BILLION dollars for lying to its viewers. And it STILL lies.

Congratulations to my friend @drmarkbourrie.bsky.social for yet more credit for his fantastic Canadian history stories