Bill Freeman - Adult Non-Fiction

Adult Non-Fiction

While my young adult books can be easily categorized as Canadian historical fiction for young people, my non-fiction covers a wider range of issues.

As a young man studying sociology, I became very interested in local politics and the political life of local organizations such as unions, community groups, municipal politics and corporations. These interests led to a number of books, some focused on the City of Hamilton and others with a broader focus like unions, democracy and the First World War.

Democracy Rising: Politics and Participation in Canada

The Brexit vote in Britain and the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States illustrate that our system of representative democracy is in deep trouble.

There are signs of political alienation everywhere. Most believe that government is run by a few big interests. Wealthy corporations receive grants and beneficial regulations. The incomes of middle and lower earners have remained stagnant or decreased.

What are the limits of Canadian democracy and how are they being expanded by a revolution in participatory democracy is the focus of this book.

Democracy Rising was published by Dundurn Press in 2017

ISBN: 9781459737679

You can find this book on online booksellers.

This is the link to Indigo.ca

New Urban Agenda

Politics in the Greater Toronto, Hamilton Area (GTHA) have become increasingly divisive over the past decade, and solutions to the city's problems have become hot-topic issues debated in council and the press, but never finding resolution.

The New Urban Agenda is equal parts history, social science, and call to action to solve the major problems facing the GTHA. It focuses on local and provincial politics, transit, transportation issues and the quality of life.

The New Urban Agenda was published by Dundurn Press in 2015

ISBN: 97814597311097

You can find this book on online booksellers. This is the link to Indigo.ca

https://www.indigo.ca/products/the-new-urban-agenda?variant=46205830594770

You can find this book on online booksellers. This is the link to Indigo.ca

Far From Home: Canadians in the First World War, co-authored by Bill Freeman and Richard Nielsen

Documentary films took my writing in yet another direction. I was working with Norflicks Productions when its president, Dick Nielsen, asked me to write a book based on a documentary film series he had produced on Canadians in the First World War.

I wrote the text for Far From Home but it is based on the research and images gathered by Richard Nielsen and his team of researchers. It follows the course of the First World War from a Canadian point of view.

The war was a grim affair for those in the front lines and the people on the home front. By the end, Canadians were among the best troops on the Western Front, but they paid a price with high casualties and divisions on the home front.

Far From Home was published by McGraw-Hill Ryerson in 1999

ISBN: -07-086118-8 cloth

This book is out of print. You can find it at libraries.

Casa Loma, Toronto’s Fairy Tale Castle and its Owner, Sir Henry Pellatt

As I became a writer and gave up academic life, my interests shifted. My publisher, James Lorimer, asked me to write Casa Loma, Toronto’s Fairy Tale Castle and its Owner, Sir Henry Pellatt. This book is handsomely illustrated by the photographs of Vincenzo Pietropaolo.

Casa Loma won the Award of Merit, Heritage Toronto, 1999.

Casa Loma was published by James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers, 1998. ISBN: 1-55028-595-5 paper

You can find this book on online booksellers. This is the link to Indigo.ca

A Magical Place: Toronto Island and its People

After Casa Loma was published, I persuaded Jim Lorimer to bring out A Magical Place: Toronto Island and its People, with photographs by David Laurence.

I live on Toronto Island and this book was a special project for me. For decades Metro Toronto tried to expropriate Island homes. This book celebrates the stubborn, creative spirit of the people who fought to save their homes and make the Island their home.

A Magical Place won the Certificate of Commendation, Heritage Toronto, 2000

A Magical Place was published by James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers in 1999. ISBN: 1-55028-670-6 paper

You can find this book on online booksellers. This is the link to Indigo.ca

1005: Political Life in a Local Union

1005 is the Steelworkers Union local that represents the workers at the Hamilton Stelco steel complex. The book started as the research for my PhD in Sociology at McMaster University and went on to become a popular book read by those interested in unions, democracy and in labour studies programs.

At the time I did the research for the book in the early 1970s there were 12,500 workers who were members of Local 1005. The local had an impact on the politics of the Steelworkers, the City of Hamilton, the NDP and the members of the local.

1005: Political Life of a Union Local was published by James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers in 1982. ISBN: 0-88862-551-0 cloth; 0-88862-550-2 paper

This book is out of print. You can find it at most libraries.

Their Town: The Mafia, the Media and the Party Machine, co-edited and authored by Bill Freeman and Marsha Hewitt

Their Town created a storm of interest in Hamilton when it was first published and is still read by those interested Hamilton and local politics.

The book describes how local elites used Hamilton politics to further their own ends and examines the political “give-a-ways” by the city to large companies, corruption, how modern political machines are organized and the continued influence of the Mafia on the City of Hamilton.

Their Town was published by James Lorimer & Company Publishers in 1979. ISBN: 0-88862-266-X cloth; 0-88862-267-8 paper

You can find this book on online booksellers. This is the link to Indigo.ca

Hamilton: A People’s History

My interest in the City of Hamilton was ignited, yet again, when I was asked to research and write a documentary film about the city. I wasn’t very happy about the documentary, but I had convinced Jim Lorimer, my book publisher, to do a book about the city’s history.

I was very happy with the book project. Hamilton a People’s History is a different type of history. It seeks a broad, popular audience with its lush photographs and descriptions of the lives of ordinary people. The book quickly sold out and has been reprinted.

Hamilton: A People’s History was published by James Lorimer & Co. Ltd., Publishers in 2001. ISBN: 1-55028-740-0

You can find this book on online booksellers. This is the link to Indigo.ca

Glory Days: A Play and History of the '46 Stelco Strike

Glory Days began as a play produced by Theatre Aquarius, a professional theatre company in Hamilton. It was originally produced in 1988 and remounted in 2006. The book, brought out by Playwrights Canada Press, contains the script of the play and an extensive introduction that gives the historical background and some of the dramatic events of the 1946 Stelco strike.

Glory Days has been produced by a number of high schools as one act plays. It is an ideal play for high school performances because of the labour history it describes, the large cast and the use of music.

Glory Days was published by Playwrights Canada Press in 2007. ISBN: 987-088754-668-6

This book is out of print. I have a number of copies. You can contact me at billfreeman@bell.net

End of War

Written in clear compelling prose, Bill Freeman explores the possibilities of a world of lasting peace.

“To eliminate war we have to establish and strengthen the multilateral world. The days of empire are finished and multilateralism is the natural outcome of our economic, political and social development. No single country has the political or military power to impose its imperial will on the peoples or nations of the world. War will not disappear by accident or miraculously wither away. It will end when we eliminate poverty, discrimination and domination and build new organizations and practices that support political rights, sustainable economic development and the toleration of minorities.”

To buy the book, click here.