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Paper Trails: From the Backwoods to the Front Page, a Life in Stories
One of Canada's greatest journalists shares a half century of the stories behind the stories.
From his vantage point harnessed to a tree overlooking the town of Huntsville (he tended to wander), a very young Roy MacGregor got in the habit of watching people—what they did, who they talked to, where they went. He has been getting to know his fellow Canadians and telling us all about them ever since.
From his early days in the pages of Maclean's, to stints at the Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, National Post and most famously from his perch on page two of the Globe and Mail, MacGregor was one of the country's must-read journalists. While news media were leaning increasingly right or left, he always leaned north, his curiosity trained by the deep woods and cold lakes of Algonquin Park to share stories from Canada's farthest reaches, even as he worked in the newsrooms of its southern capitols. From Parliament to the backyard rink, subarctic shores to prairie expanses, MacGregor shaped the way Canadians saw and thought about themselves—never entirely untethered from the land and its history.
When MacGregor was still a young editor at Maclean's, the 21-year-old chief of the Waskaganish (aka Rupert's House) Crees, Billy Diamond, found in Roy a willing listener as the chief was appealing desperately to newsrooms across Ottawa, trying to bring attention to the tainted-water emergency in his community. Where other journalists had shrugged off Diamond's appeals, MacGregor got on a tiny plane into northern Quebec. From there began a long friendship that would one day lead MacGregor to a Winnipeg secret location with Elijah Harper and his advisors, a host of the most influential Indigenous leaders in Canada, as the Manitoba MPP contemplated the Charlottetown Accord and a vote that could shatter what seemed at the time the country's last chance to save Confederation.
This was the sort of exclusive access to vital Canadian stories that Roy MacGregor always seemed to secure. And as his ardent fans will discover, the observant small-town boy turned pre-eminent journalist put his rare vantage point to exceptional use. Filled with reminiscences of an age when Canadian newsrooms were populated by outsized characters, outright rogues and passionate practitioners, the unputdownable Paper Trails is a must-read account of a life lived in stories.
From his vantage point harnessed to a tree overlooking the town of Huntsville (he tended to wander), a very young Roy MacGregor got in the habit of watching people—what they did, who they talked to, where they went. He has been getting to know his fellow Canadians and telling us all about them ever since.
From his early days in the pages of Maclean's, to stints at the Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, National Post and most famously from his perch on page two of the Globe and Mail, MacGregor was one of the country's must-read journalists. While news media were leaning increasingly right or left, he always leaned north, his curiosity trained by the deep woods and cold lakes of Algonquin Park to share stories from Canada's farthest reaches, even as he worked in the newsrooms of its southern capitols. From Parliament to the backyard rink, subarctic shores to prairie expanses, MacGregor shaped the way Canadians saw and thought about themselves—never entirely untethered from the land and its history.
When MacGregor was still a young editor at Maclean's, the 21-year-old chief of the Waskaganish (aka Rupert's House) Crees, Billy Diamond, found in Roy a willing listener as the chief was appealing desperately to newsrooms across Ottawa, trying to bring attention to the tainted-water emergency in his community. Where other journalists had shrugged off Diamond's appeals, MacGregor got on a tiny plane into northern Quebec. From there began a long friendship that would one day lead MacGregor to a Winnipeg secret location with Elijah Harper and his advisors, a host of the most influential Indigenous leaders in Canada, as the Manitoba MPP contemplated the Charlottetown Accord and a vote that could shatter what seemed at the time the country's last chance to save Confederation.
This was the sort of exclusive access to vital Canadian stories that Roy MacGregor always seemed to secure. And as his ardent fans will discover, the observant small-town boy turned pre-eminent journalist put his rare vantage point to exceptional use. Filled with reminiscences of an age when Canadian newsrooms were populated by outsized characters, outright rogues and passionate practitioners, the unputdownable Paper Trails is a must-read account of a life lived in stories.
426 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2023
7 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Roy MacGregor
125 books91 followersRoy MacGregor is a Canadian author of fiction and non-fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 6, 2023
Fantastic!
March 29, 2024
A lovely detailed memoir from a Canadian journalist
February 17, 2024
I became a fan of the author after reading Canoe Lake many years ago and looked forward to reading his memoir.
The author uses his narrative to bring the reader along as a proverbial fly on the wall or ‘kid tied to a tree” to gain insights into the natural beauty of the Canadian wilderness, Canadian politics, Canadian history, male bonding, and Canadian journalism, while he chronicles his life developing into a successful journalist and author to current times and reflecting on changes. Of course the shadow of the influential U.S. the impact of changes in technology on journalism, social media, and the pandemic make their way into some of the stories. A lesson that people need to embrace change and adapt quickly or become obsolete.
The narration starts with the author’s recollections of his youth, boyhood friends and family in northern Ontario in the early 1960’s, and takes a circuitous route to the end of the memoir which reveals the most touching and griping tribute. I found the author’s connection with and stories narrating the voice of Indigenous leaders to be very interesting and insightful.
At times some chapters read like those chatty Christmas letters from friends that make note of people in their life who have no connection with the actual reader. While some names in this book were meaningful to me as a reader, that may have been because I’m of a similar vintage as the author. Many names may have no meaning at all to younger readers. Editing can be good thing.
This memoir clearly reveals the strong male connection to boyhood buddies, the "boy’s club" of hockey and how men support and progress careers without acknowledging that this behaviour is what can be perceived as an obstacle that keeps women in their “place"... supporting their husbands by raising children at home.
While reading, the thought that the author’s narrative seemed to be missing the important voice of his wife and immediate family kept nagging at my brain. The author redeemed himself by being such a good storyteller and that he saved the best for last.
The author uses his narrative to bring the reader along as a proverbial fly on the wall or ‘kid tied to a tree” to gain insights into the natural beauty of the Canadian wilderness, Canadian politics, Canadian history, male bonding, and Canadian journalism, while he chronicles his life developing into a successful journalist and author to current times and reflecting on changes. Of course the shadow of the influential U.S. the impact of changes in technology on journalism, social media, and the pandemic make their way into some of the stories. A lesson that people need to embrace change and adapt quickly or become obsolete.
The narration starts with the author’s recollections of his youth, boyhood friends and family in northern Ontario in the early 1960’s, and takes a circuitous route to the end of the memoir which reveals the most touching and griping tribute. I found the author’s connection with and stories narrating the voice of Indigenous leaders to be very interesting and insightful.
At times some chapters read like those chatty Christmas letters from friends that make note of people in their life who have no connection with the actual reader. While some names in this book were meaningful to me as a reader, that may have been because I’m of a similar vintage as the author. Many names may have no meaning at all to younger readers. Editing can be good thing.
This memoir clearly reveals the strong male connection to boyhood buddies, the "boy’s club" of hockey and how men support and progress careers without acknowledging that this behaviour is what can be perceived as an obstacle that keeps women in their “place"... supporting their husbands by raising children at home.
While reading, the thought that the author’s narrative seemed to be missing the important voice of his wife and immediate family kept nagging at my brain. The author redeemed himself by being such a good storyteller and that he saved the best for last.
January 5, 2024
3.5 stars. There were sections I found really interesting, particularly the passages about growing up in rural/small town Ontario. Overall, I found it pretty repetitive with more hockey than I was prepared for, but a relatively gentle read.
[I received an ALC from the publisher via Libro]
[I received an ALC from the publisher via Libro]
October 25, 2023
A very interesting read of the life and times of one of Canada's leading journalists. MacGregor had a remarkable career in journalism - it was fascinating to read about his many adventures over the years - and a successful sideline as an author of dozens of well-loved books.
August 6, 2023
A very strong 4 Stars
As a long time connoisseur of memoir,” Paper Trails”hits all the right notes for this particular Canuck of a certain age. Roy MacGregor has had a personal window into many of the significant events of my own lifetime as a Canadian. He describes himself as having MacGregor luck in that he often found himself in the right place at the right time. MacGregor has vastly enjoyed the heyday of long form and short form journalism in Canada and has been employed by all the major vendors of print media in the country - Maclean’s, the Ottawa Citizen, The National Post, The Globe and Mail etc. and has received many accolades for his work. He is the author of over 50 books for both adults and children, but judiciously selects the anecdotes for this memoir thoughtfully and respectfully but also with wit and self-deprecation. A life well lived and we readers get to enjoy his journey down memory lane with familiar people, as well as a broad swath of Canadian geography.
As a long time connoisseur of memoir,” Paper Trails”hits all the right notes for this particular Canuck of a certain age. Roy MacGregor has had a personal window into many of the significant events of my own lifetime as a Canadian. He describes himself as having MacGregor luck in that he often found himself in the right place at the right time. MacGregor has vastly enjoyed the heyday of long form and short form journalism in Canada and has been employed by all the major vendors of print media in the country - Maclean’s, the Ottawa Citizen, The National Post, The Globe and Mail etc. and has received many accolades for his work. He is the author of over 50 books for both adults and children, but judiciously selects the anecdotes for this memoir thoughtfully and respectfully but also with wit and self-deprecation. A life well lived and we readers get to enjoy his journey down memory lane with familiar people, as well as a broad swath of Canadian geography.
September 12, 2023
Paper Trails: From the Backwoods to the Front Page, a Life in Stories by Roy MacGregor is a fascinating memoir written by one of Canada’s most respected journalists. What set the author apart from others in his field was that he was equally comfortable interviewing and writing stories about hockey players or prime ministers. His career path took him to writing for magazines as well as newspapers. MacGregor begins the book with stories of his childhood and his love of sports and nature, then on to his education and his budding career in journalism. This is a life in stories and the reader is pulled along to find out about his work over several decades but also to hear about his family life, both growing up and later with marriage and children. In a world of fake news and alternate facts, it is refreshing to read Paper Trails to remind us of the way journalism used to be. Here’s hoping that Roy MacGregor will keep on writing for many years to come. Highly recommended.
August 21, 2024
I have always liked Roy MacGregor since I was a child, reading his Screech Owl series, then Canoe Lake, and his columns. All of these led to the telling of his amazing life as one of Canada's most prolific writers. Paper Trails left no stone unturned as he trapses around the country and the world on incredible adventures, highlighting his career features as a sports and political columnist. It's the career of dreams for most writers and he's a worthy man to have been granted this honour. I particularly liked his features on his life growing up in Huntsville, as well as the many relationships he formed with noteworthy people that shaped Canada's political landscape. But what touched the nerves were the stories of his family, especially his father and their trip to Cooperstown. It has inspired me to arrange a trip similar to his, hopefully not with the result of 'losing' my father. I appreciate his stories and the tremendous work his put into sharing these with us.
December 9, 2023
I really didn't religiously follow Roy MacGregor much as a columnist or journalist, but I did read a number of the very enjoyable Screech Owl kids' series to my kids when they were younger. But I certainly knew of him (and his various works over the years). This book is a really interesting cross section of his life; the first 1/3 chronicles his youth (in detail, as I would expect from a journalist), the latter part focuses on the stories and the people (I LOVED this last part). If finishes with a very moving tribute to his recently deceased wife. Overall, it's a really comprehensive look at life (and MacGregor luck) in Canada over the last 70 years; a worthy chronicle (or audiobook, as I did) indeed.
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March 27, 2024Journalist MacGregor recounts his long career in Canadian media in which he wrote for most of the country's major publications. Roy is a hale fellow- well met sort of guy and his stories show this quality, there aren't many people he can't get along with. He is at his sharpest as a profile writer. His portraits of his dad, Stephen Harper (who he helped write a book), Peter C. Newman and his two childhood friends Eric and Brent are among the best things in the book. It surprised me how much he was effected by Meech Lake and the Spicer Commission. He took the raw feelings exposed in those meetings very much to heart. He got to know Canada as well as anyone and this book is a pretty solid portrait of the country.
June 24, 2024
I hadn’t heard of Roy MacGregor prior to reading this book and so wasn’t familiar with his writings. That being said I was hoping for a bit more backwoods than this book provided.
On borrowing it from the library my assumption was I was going to be reading something that would be in line with Cross Country Checkup. That there’d be in-depth coverage of a journalist who travelled one end of the country to the other, and perhaps Roy did and perhaps he has great stories to tell about it. It just didn’t come out in this book. At one point it seemed to spiral into a very loose history of Canadian hockey, causing me to lose interest in what was being said.
The book isn’t bad, it’s just not what I’d hoped it would be.
On borrowing it from the library my assumption was I was going to be reading something that would be in line with Cross Country Checkup. That there’d be in-depth coverage of a journalist who travelled one end of the country to the other, and perhaps Roy did and perhaps he has great stories to tell about it. It just didn’t come out in this book. At one point it seemed to spiral into a very loose history of Canadian hockey, causing me to lose interest in what was being said.
The book isn’t bad, it’s just not what I’d hoped it would be.
December 23, 2025
From his early days in the pages of Maclean's, to stints at the Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, National Post and the Globe and Mail, MacGregor was one of Canada's must-read journalists. While news media were leaning politically right or left, he always turned north, his curiosity trained by the deep woods and cold lakes of Algonquin Park, to share stories form Canad;s distant reaches, even as he worked in the newsroom of its southern capitals. From Parliament Hill to the backyard rink, subarctic riverbanks to prairie expanses, MacGregor shaped the way Canadians saw and thought about themselves - never entirely untethered from the land and its history. A Life in Stories.
October 3, 2023
This was such a lovely collection of essays, giving a more personal reflection on his life, his family, his lessons & his growth trying to figure himself out as a journalist, as a dad, as a ya writer, and editor, a husband. It’s fascinating to hear more about the inside of what journalism was, and how’s it’s changed. I have always admired his essays, so this book about how he got to write them flushes out his process, his lessons & his passion for our need to observe the human experience different from our own.
August 17, 2023
After what feels like a long hiatus plodding my way through books, I read this one in less than a week. So that alone says something. I always enjoy Roy MacGregor's work so this was no major surprise. I'm not huge on memoirs and I think Roy is at his best when he is researching and waxing about Canada and the canoe. But he's led an interesting life and is a great storyteller, so I enjoyed this change of topic all the same.
September 16, 2023
I loved and very much appreciated this book. Although I found the first 100 pages, covering his birth in Huntsville and childhood to majority, unnecessarily long and rather self serving, the rest of the book covering his career as a journalist, columnist and author fascinating, enlightening and informative. The stories behind the story are never known to the general public except in memoirs such as this. Thank you, Rod MacGregor
October 21, 2023
I always have appreciated that Roy MacGregor is such a gifted story-teller!
I can see this on the nomination list for next year’s Stephen Leacock Award (even though it does get bogged down in the weeds in a few places, but it recovers).
As a woman of a certain vintage - this is appealing to me on a nostalgic level… that MacGregor is only two years older than my husband, and that he is relaying the Canada that I have grown up alongside.
A thoroughly lovely journey…
I can see this on the nomination list for next year’s Stephen Leacock Award (even though it does get bogged down in the weeds in a few places, but it recovers).
As a woman of a certain vintage - this is appealing to me on a nostalgic level… that MacGregor is only two years older than my husband, and that he is relaying the Canada that I have grown up alongside.
A thoroughly lovely journey…
November 27, 2023
A combination of a life time of stories and columns. Although the first half dragged a bit, I found the second half much more engaging. His chapter on unforgettable characters was really good reading (I particularly liked the Billy Diamond piece, the Graeme Gibson one, and Christie Blatchford). And the chapter on his wife was heart-breaking, particularly their daughter's “Please, more screen time with my mom.”
March 29, 2024
Some funny and moving stories well told.
A lot of name dropping, I didn't mind it when talking about Canadian figures he had experience with for articles or books, but it seemed a bit excessive on the colegues...I guess he didn't want to leave anyone out.
May be of more interest to some slightly older than me who remember some more of the political issues he spoke to such as the Meech Lake accord.
I expected more canoeing/outdoorsman discussions.
A lot of name dropping, I didn't mind it when talking about Canadian figures he had experience with for articles or books, but it seemed a bit excessive on the colegues...I guess he didn't want to leave anyone out.
May be of more interest to some slightly older than me who remember some more of the political issues he spoke to such as the Meech Lake accord.
I expected more canoeing/outdoorsman discussions.
December 6, 2023
I finally finished this book and loved it. What starts as an autobiography continues in a series of vignettes as MacGregor's journalistic skills portray a contemporary look at the Canada we know and love. Touching, funny, loving and written with heart..
Best of all is that you can put it down and pick it up later without missing the plot... to be savoured
slowly.
Best of all is that you can put it down and pick it up later without missing the plot... to be savoured
slowly.
July 30, 2024
Such an interesting read. Finally found a book I didn’t want to put down and I certainly did not want it to end. To be fair, I skipped some hockey parts as I am not interested in the sport, but there was plenty more to read that kept me mesmerized. I have not read any other books written by Mr. Macgregor, but I look forward to doing so.
December 7, 2023
His memoir captures a life full of love, discovery, drama, and adoration for Canada. I greatly enjoy all his books and sure hope this is not his last work. I've read more than a dozen of his books and want to continue!
January 21, 2024
Very interesting book about Canada, including lots of stories about hockey, and journalism throughout the last several decades. This book was recommended by my dad, and I can see why he liked it, including the many stories about growing up in Ontario.
January 31, 2024
I can’t believe the life he’s lived. What he’s done, who he’s met, it’s all amazing. He is awesome at scene writing and carrying a narrative through seemingly unrelated anecdotes. I want to be as good a journalist as him.
February 25, 2025
At times very interesting and then pages of boredom. Lots of names or people I have no clue who they are and lots of repetition of comments made or given because of the backward and forward story telling.
September 11, 2023
An excellent story about Journalism in Canada as well as Canadian history.
Roy is a wonderful storyteller!
Roy is a wonderful storyteller!
October 5, 2023
I really enjoy his style of writing. I had no idea however his extensive work in the newsprint industry.
November 3, 2023
Audio
February 9, 2024
Incredibly well written life story of one of Canada’s most accomplished journalists. Funny, inspiring, shocking, thought provoking and timely.
March 1, 2024
A book every Canadian should read!
March 25, 2024
Terrific. So many great stories.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews