Jim Coyle: 5 books

On Oct. 15, 2012, Ontario's 24th premier, Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr., stunned political friends and foes alike with the announcement he was resigning. Mired in accumulating scandal within the government and bogged down in labour strife with teachers, he abruptly decided it was time to return to...

Almost from Canada's beginnings, the Senate and its shortcomings have been topics of national conversation. Yet against all odds, the House of Taskless Thanks abides, in much the same form as it was established. In his new ebook, Housebroken: A Brief, Bemused History of Canada's Senate, Toronto Star...

When Dalton McGuinty shocked the province by announcing his decision to resign as Ontario premier and Liberal leader late last year, Kathleen Wynne, a popular and sure-footed cabinet minister, was instantly considered a leading contender to succeed him. Though not a shoo-in, Wynne trounced perceived...

When the fledgling United States declared war, former president Thomas Jefferson famously boasted that “the conquest of Canada” would be “a mere matter of marching.” It became instead a bitter, nasty affair pitting brother against brother, cousin against cousin, as British regulars joined with...

At the end of the riveting HBO series True Detective, cynical former cop Rust Cohle experiences a transformative glimpse of paradise while in a coma. The possibility of an afterlife has always been a human preoccupation, but heaven is popping up everywhere these days -- in TV, books, movies and public...