The Life and Times of Joe Casey: From Fish to Politics

Nonfiction: Biography, The Maritimes, Politics, World War II

192 pages, $19.95, 6"x9" Paperback (Includes photographs)

ISBN-13: 978-1-897426-02-9

ISBN-10: 1-897426-02-X

Available in September 2008

Amazon || Chapters

Joe Casey's life story mirrors the history of Nova Scotia in the twentieth century. It shows how that history shaped the man and how the man shaped that history - as harbour pilot, fisherman, fish plant owner, lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Navy, hotel owner, and Member and Deputy Speaker of the Nova Scotia Legislature.

His quick wit and indomitable spirit let him take risks in every job he ever undertook. Born in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, in 1918 and still going strong, he will make you laugh your way through the many dramatic events of his active life. As a boy, he delivered his mother's loaves
of bread up and down the Victoria Beach Road and later in life he would break bread with the rich and famous. As a third generation harbour pilot, he faced many dangers piloting munitions-laden ships through Digby Gap during World War II and piloting ships of all kinds in the most severe weather.

Joe has pitted his storytelling skills against some of the best, including the American actor James Cagney. On a sailing trip down the East Coast, Joe's spirit of competition led him to
trade tales with Robert Ripley of Believe It or Not fame. In this volume, his rich stories bring the past alive.

The author, elected six times as a Liberal candidate, explains how his verbal skills, humour and dogged determination helped get things done in the stodgy Provincial Legislature. Premiers
Gerald Regan and John Buchanan both praised Joe for his ability to make friends on both sides of the aisle and they have written forewords for this book. Your excursion through Joe's life will make you laugh out loud at times and, at others, will make you reflect on some of the fundamental issues of our times.

Anchorman: My Life in Broadcasting

Nonfiction: Biography, The Maritimes, Politics

192 pages, $19.95, 6"x9" Paperback (Includes photographs)

ISBN-13: 978-1-897426-03-6

ISBN-10: 1-897426-03-8

Available in September 2008

Amazon || Chapters

Bruce Graham started his television career working on Romper Room, with excitable five-year-olds and near-daily on-air disasters. Undaunted by that experience, he moved on to other forms of mayhem with excitable ambitious politicians. Police stories, pumpkin stories - he reported it all. Anchorman is filled with Bruce's experiences, observations, commentaries and occasional letters from viewers who took it upon themselves to correct, compliment or contradict him Through four decades there were many high points but absurd moments and disappointments as well.

As a student reporter, he found himself sharing the same streets as the Boston Strangler, mob hit men and Jack Kennedy. He encountered a labour leader so intoxicated he fell asleep on the news set before his interview. There were plenty of controversies in his career, some so explosive that they threatened the stability of a city. As a news director in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he was often at odds within his own profession. Bruce didn't believe that news should be tamed or timed for somebody's convenience. This led to battles over news embargoes and the campaign for television cameras in the Nova Scotia Legislature.

There are plenty of personal glimpses of people in this book, from Ralph Kline to Pierre Trudeau, as well as many other newsmakers of the day. And there are also the humorous moments: Cape Bretoners witnessing the Virgin Mary on the side of Tim Hortons and the man who tried to convince the anchorman that he was being destroyed by aliens. There are stories of injustice too, of people charged with arson, the murder of a young man in a Calgary convenience store and those people who just disappear off the face of the earth.

Bruce Graham has had a long and distinguished career in broadcasting. He has worked in Newcastle, Moncton, Winnipeg, Calgary and Halifax-Dartmouth. Bruce is the 2004 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Radio & Television News Directors Association. He and his radio newsroom won the Ohio State Award for journalistic excellence. Anchorman is his fourth book. He is also the author of three novels: The Parrsboro Boxing Club, Dream of the Dove, and Ivor Johnson's Neighbours.