Book ~ "How Canada Works: The People Who Make Our Nation Thrive" (2024) Peter Mansbridge and Mark Bulgutch

From Goodreads ~ In this latest collection of personal stories, Peter Mansbridge and former CBC producer Mark Bulgutch shine a light on the everyday jobs that keep our nation running and the inspiring people who perform them with empathy and kindness.

Meet the 911 operator in British Columbia who sends help to callers in crisis and stays on the line, steadying them as they wait. Hear from the chief of the Neskantaga First Nation in northern Ontario, who sacrifices his personal time to fight for better resources for his community, which has had a boil water advisory since the mid-1990s. From the air traffic controller who ensures people get to where they need to go, to the midwife in Saskatchewan who guides families through pregnancy and the birthing process, these are the jobs that connect Canadians on both a logistical and personal level.

Though Canada is still very much a work in progress, this enlightening book celebrates how we are greater than the sum of our parts by championing the people that make our country great.

Peter Mansbridge is a former anchor of CBC’s The National and Mark Bulgutch is a former CBC producer.  They have put together a collection of stories of ordinary Canadians which have been written by the Canadian themselves (so it's in first person perspective).

The stories are varied and interesting and include a Scarborough funeral director, an Edmonton window washer, a Saskatchewan midwife, a parole board member, a small town mayor, a Montreal tour guide, a St. John's wedding planner, a Winnipeg mall manager, an Edmonton zookeeper, a Halifax hotel manager and more. I liked that the stories were about people all across Canada and were a mix of men and women. We got to know them and why/how they chose their respective fields.

Book ~ "Off the Record" (2021) Peter Mansbridge

From Goodreads ~ Peter Mansbridge invites us to walk the beat with him in this entertaining and revealing look into his life and career, from his early broadcasting days in the remote northern Manitoba community of Churchill to the fast-paced news desk of CBC’s flagship show, The National, where he reported on stories from around the world.

Today, Peter Mansbridge is often recognized for his distinctive deep voice, which calmly delivered the news for over fifty years. But ironically, he never considered becoming a broadcaster. In some ways, though, Peter was prepared for a life as a newscaster from an early age. Every night around the dinner table, his family would debate the news of the day, from Cold War scandals and Vietnam to Elvis Presley and the Beatles.

So in 1968, when by chance a CBC radio manager in Churchill, Manitoba, offered him a spot hosting the local late night music program, Peter embraced the opportunity. Without a teacher, he tuned into broadcasts from across Canada, the US, and the UK to learn the basic skills of a journalist and he eventually parlayed his position into his first news job. Less than twenty years later, he became the chief correspondent and anchor of The National.

With humour and heart, Peter shares never-before-told stories from his distinguished career, including reporting on the fall of the Berlin Wall and the horror of 9/11, walking the beaches of Normandy with Tom Brokaw, and talking with Canadian prime ministers from John Diefenbaker to Justin Trudeau. But it’s far from all serious. Peter also writes about finding the “cure” for baldness in China and landing the role of Peter Moosebridge in Disney’s Zootopia. From the first (and only) time he was late to broadcast to his poignant interview with the late Gord Downie, these are the moments that have stuck with him.

After years of interviewing others, Peter turns the lens on himself and takes us behind the scenes of his life on the frontlines of journalism as he reflects on the toll of being in the spotlight, the importance of diversity in the newsroom, the role of the media then and now, and the responsibilities we all bear as citizens in an increasingly global world.

Peter Mansbridge was born in England and moved to Ottawa, ON, with his family when he was young.  He didn't graduated from high school and instead joined the Royal Canadian for a couple years.  Looking for a job, he ended up as a ticket agent/baggage handler in at the small Churchill Airport in Churchill, MB.  The manager of a local CBC radio station liked his voice when he was doing announcements and hired him part time as a night time host.  From there, he moved up and eventually became news anchor of CBC’s The National (from which he retired in 2017).

This book is full of his random stories, starting with his family and childhood, moving from England to Malaya and finally Ottawa.  He then tells us how he ended up with a broadcasting career, which no education or formal training.  From there he tells of the wide variety of stories he has covered over the years, including the wars in the Middle East, being on an icebreaker in the Northern Passage, covering Princess Diana's death and 9/11, meeting world leaders and even telling of the Friendly Giant's death.

I liked this book and the writing style.  It is written at a high level and with honesty and at times humor.

Book ~ "Extraordinary Canadians: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation" (2020) Peter Mansbridge and Mark Bulgutch

From Goodreads ~ In this timely and heartwarming volume of personal stories, Peter Mansbridge and former CBC producer Mark Bulgutch bring together inspiring Canadians from across the country, who in their own way, are making Canada a better place for all.

Hear Gitxsan activist Cindy Blackstock describe her childhood in northern British Columbia where she straddled two communities - Indigenous and non-Indigenous - and her subsequent fight for equitable health care for all children as the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. Meet Matt Devlin, the US broadcaster who found a new home in Canada when he got a job with the Toronto Raptors, and read how he helped calm the crowd when a gunman began shooting in Nathan Phillips Square after the team’s NBA championship win. From the young woman living with Crohn’s disease - and proudly modeling her ostomy bag - to the rabbi whose family fled Nazi Germany - and who now gives the benediction on Parliament Hill each Remembrance Day - "Extraordinary Canadians" celebrates the people who have overcome adversity and broken down barriers to champion the rights and freedoms of everyone who calls Canada home.

Featuring voices from all walks of life - advocates, politicians, doctors, veterans, immigrants, business leaders, and more - this collection gets to the heart of what it means to be Canadian. These stories will change the way you see your country and make you fall in love with Canada all over again.

Peter Mansbridge is a former anchor of CBC’s The National and Mark Bulgutch is a former CBC producer.  They have put together a collection of stories of extraordinary Canadians which have been written by the Canadian themselves (so it's in first person perspective).

The stories are varied and interesting.  There is a bio of the person at the end of their story ... I would have moved them to the beginning of the story as I didn't know who these people are as they aren't household names.  I started reading the bio before I read their story to get an idea of who they were and what had made them so special.