Over the Mountains: More Thoughts on Things that Matter

by Rafe Mair

"I'm no good at writing," says Rafe Mair, paraphrasing Robert Benchley, "but by the time I realized that, I was too famous to stop." He didn't begin writing until he was fifty, but since that time he has won the coveted Michener Canadian Media Award, the Hutchison Award for Lifetime Contribution to BC Journalism and has been inducted into the Broadcast Hall of Fame. Now liberated from the distraction of his wildly popular radio talk show, Rafe has for the first time been able to concentrate his legendary energies exclusively on the written word--and Over the Mountains is the result.

Rafe tackles controversial issues such as "Canada, Western Alienation, Quebec Separation and All That--An Update," "BC's Greatest Premier Named Bennett," "The European An Exercise in Deception," "The Free Press and Other Myths," "The Christian Right," "The Catholic Church," "Whither Books," "The Welfare State," "Corporate Eco-Terrorism," "Supply Without When Privatization Fails," "On Parting with Old Books," "Travel Notes," "Dogs and Cats" and "The Law is an (Expensive) Ass," to name a few. His sense of humour and critical insight will produce a wide range of responses from, "I can't believe he said that!" to "no one's ever put it so clearly before."

In Over the Mountains, you'll find out why Rafe thinks "ecoterrorist" Paul Watson deserves the Order of Canada; how Rafe blew his one chance with Gloria Steinem; whether or not Tiger Woods is the best golfer of all time, and you'll read about the holes Rafe has found in the theory of evolution.

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 2006