Originally from the United States, she presents inspired observations about life in Canada.

An Accidental Canadian

Wente, Margaret

Biographies & Memoirs

Harper-collins Publishers

Each week thousands of Globe and Mail readers makeMargaret Wente’s column their first read of the day. Whether she’s writingabout marriage or menopause, hockey or home-owning, Wente makes readers feelthat, finally, someone is able to articulatecandidly and with humourexactlywhat everyday life is like for them. In this, her first book, Margaret Wentecombines new writing with existing work to create an absorbing read richlyleavened with reflections on Canada, and on the small pleasures and bigquestions in life.

An Accidental Canadian: Reflections on My Home and (Not) Native Land

Professionals & Academics

Harper-perennial

In 1932 Donald and Lelia Baker arrive at Mondombe, a mission station far up a tributary of the Congo River, to heal and educate the Africans. Dr. Baker is the only doctor for an area the size of Indiana. A year later their daughter Margaret is born.In And We Ate the Leopard, Margaret Baker Wente describes the unusual story of her family's life in the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) catching marauding leopards, surviving serious malarial attacks and helping a hunting and fishing people gain the knowledge to join the modern world. Living in the jungle without electricity or neighborhood grocery stores demands pioneer ingenuity. Messages come by drum beat; canoes and bicycles provide the usual transportation; mail from the States takes three months to arrive. The mission steamboat Oregon spreads the gospel and provides transportation up and down the river for the mission.Gradually educated Congolese assume positions of responsibility. With independence in 1960, the new Congolese government proves unable to control its rampaging army. The Bakers must be evacuated by the United States Air Force after serving twenty-eight years.

And We Ate the Leopard: Serving in the Belgian Congo

Historical

iUniverse

For thousands of Canadians, Margaret Wente is the columnist who makes sense of daily issues and events. Even when they disagree with her conclusions and fire off angry letters in response, most readers of The Globe and Mail still report that her column is the first thing they turn to in the newspaper. When The Economist chose the most influential newspaper columnists in 20 countries, Margaret Wente was the only Canadian journalist to make the list.
As she did so successfully in An Accidental Canadian, Margaret Wente here weaves the story of her life through her observations of the current scene. Wente takes us from the newsroom (where she conveys just what it’s like to have a regular newspaper column) to the mailroom (describing how people react to what she writes). In the book’s eponymous chapter, she recounts the biggest uproars her columns have caused -- from the piece that compared Newfoundland to a deadbeat brother-in-law to another that questioned the notion that First Nations cultures were once as advanced as European societies. 
Less controversial are her more personal articles, the ones that get put on fridge doors or pinned to bulletin boards. In these, she tries to make sense of life as a woman, a boomer/mid-lifer dealing with a husband, kids or aging parents. You Can’t Say That in Canada also includes much previously unseen material, carefully crafted into an original, engaging narrative. Here is Margaret Wente at her very best, bringing her trademark candor, warmth and wit to a book with sure-fire appeal for both her existing fans and new readers alike.

You Can't Say That In Canada

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

HarperCollins, Publishers

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Books by Wente, Margaret