Arctic Front: Defending Canada in the Far North by Ken S. Coates, P. Whitney Lackenbauer, William R. Morrison & Greg Poelzer (Thomas Allen Publishers)

A truly integrated volume by four of Canada's leading Northern specialists, Arctic Front is a clarion call to all Canadians about our endangered Arctic region, challenging the country to step away from the symbols and myth making of the past and toward the urgent political, environmental and economic realities of the 21st century.

Ken S. Coates was short-listed for the Donner Prize in 2000 for The Marshall Decision and Native Rights (McGill-Queen's University Press). He is Professor of History and Dean of Arts, University of Waterloo. P. Whitney Lackenbauer is an Assistant Professor of History at St. Jerome's University, University of Waterloo. William R. Morrison is Professor of History, University of Northern British Columbia. Greg Poelzer is the founding Dean of Undergraduate Studies for the University of the Arctic and an Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Saskatchewan.

Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State by Tarek Fatah (John Wiley & Sons, Canada)

A fascinating book that seeks to differentiate between the Islamic State and the state of Islam. Can a millennia of aggression be brought to a halt? Chasing a Mirage is unequivocal in its answer and its remedy to end political violence that is inimical to Islam and its state of grace and peace.

Tarek Fatah is co-host of the CFRB 1010 daily afternoon radio show, Strong Opinions with Tarek Fatah and Michael Coren, and a frequent contributor to the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, and the National Post. In 2007, the National Press Club of Canada awarded Fatah the 2007 Press Freedom Award. He is the founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, an organization that has been a vigourous advocate for a separation of religion and state.

Fixing the Future: How Canada's Usually Fractious Governments Worked Together to Rescue the Canada Pension Plan by Bruce Little (Rotman / University of Toronto Press Publishing)

While the deficit battles have been recounted many times, the story of the reform that rescued the CPP has gone almost entirely untold. In the readable and authoritative Fixing The Future, Bruce Little explains the CPP overhaul and shows how it stands as one of Canada's most significant public policy success stories.

Bruce Little has worked as a journalist and policy analyst, primarily at The Globe and Mail as an economics writer and columnist, and recently as Special Adviser to the Governor of the Bank of Canada.

The Limits of Boundaries: Why City-regions Cannot be Self-governing by Andrew Sancton (McGill-Queen's University Press)

With city-regions becoming increasingly important as sources of innovation and wealth in our society, does it follow that their institutions of government will become increasingly autonomous and ultimately self-governing? Andrew Sancton combines his own broad knowledge of global changes with an outline and comparison of the viewpoints of prominent social scientists to challenge accepted wisdom.

Andrew Sancton is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Local Government Program at the University of Western Ontario.

Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation by Frances Widdowson & Albert Howard (McGill-Queen's University Press)

Despite the billions of dollars devoted to aboriginal causes, Native people in Canada continue to suffer all the symptoms of a marginalized existence: high rates of substance abuse, violence and poverty. Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry argues that the policies proposed to address these problems are in fact contributing to their entrenchment.

Frances Widdowson is a faculty member, Department of Policy Studies, Mount Royal College. Albert Howard has worked as a consultant for government and Native groups and is currently an instructor and Director of Programs, Kennedy College of Technology, Toronto.