Beyond the Mountain Press Release from Callawind

"The Bank Robbery Capitol of Canada", "The Stolen Car Capitol of Canada", "The Poverty Capitol of Canada", "The City with a Mountain in the Middle". Montreal has been called many things over the last 25 years. Yet this amazing city has quite a rich history that goes beyond the labels and the few details we learned about Jacques Cartier and de Maisonneuve in high school history class.

BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN: True Tales About Montreal (Callawind Publications, November 2002, CAN$19.95 / US$13.95) by Stuart Nulman opens up the door to a new appreciation of Montreal’s past. It uncovers interesting facts and stories about Montreal that have fallen through the cracks and have remained buried — until now. What’s more the book unfolds in a "story behind the answer" format, accompanied by rarely seen photos and illustrations.

Can you answer these questions about Montreal?

Which English governess, who inspired a popular Broadway musical and several movies, spent her final years in Montreal and is buried in Mount Royal Cemetery?
What tragic circumstances in 1919 caused the only undecided Stanley Cup final in history—between the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans?
What presidential assasin spent several weeks in Montreal, as he put together the plot that would lead to the death of the 16th President of the United States?
Who was the only Montreal mayor to be arrested while in office, having referred to his
four-year internment as "the only holiday I ever had"?
What prominent Montreal office building stored most of Britain’s wealth during World War II?
Who was the first Montreal-based singer — more than 100 years before Céline Dion—to become an international superstar?

In addition, many people don’t know that since its founding 360 years ago, Montreal has had the distinction of being the birthplace of radio in North America and television in Canada, that it was a haven for a presidential assassin, that it was where one of the best-known songs of the 1960s was written and recorded, and that it was where baseball’s colour barrier was finally broken. And, don’t forget that Montreal was the place where bagels and smoked meat were made famous.

Chapters include:

From the Footlights of St-Catherine Street : The Montreal Entertainment Scene

The Dark Side of the City: Notorious Crimes, Disasters and Scandals

From " Canada’s First, Canada’s Finest" to the Last of the Tramways: Montreal’s Firsts and Lasts

The View from the Mayor’s Chair: The Colourful Characters Who Held the Title of Mayor of Montreal

City of Champions: Montreal’s Proud Sports Traditions Recalled

BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN informs and entertains a new generation while evoking memories of the city’s past for older generations. But no matter who peruses its pages, BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN is guaranteed to make you exclaim: "Gee, I didn’t know that about Montreal!" over and over again.

There is so much more to Montreal than its famous mountain and infamous politics and labels. BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN goes beyond the boundaries of Mount Royal in all directions to show a lesser known, yet a fascinating side of Montreal’s history.

About the author: A lifelong Montrealer, trivia whiz, and a former contestant on the popular quiz show Jeopardy,Stuart Nulman is a book and film expert on Montreal’s CJAD 800 AM radio station. A graduate of Concordia University’s communications and journalism program, Nulman has also worked as a research assistant for CBC-TV’s Newswatch, as a newspaper columnist and literary editor for The Suburban and Weekly Herald newspapers, and as a technical editor for CAE. Nulman has also helped research several books, including Tommy Schnurmacher’s The Gold Digger’s Guide (1985). In 1991, Stuart began his long association with the world-renowned Montreal Just for Laughs comedy festival, including researching and developing exhibits for its Museum of Humour.

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BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN: True Tales About Montreal
by Stuart Nulman
Published by Callawind Publications
Distributed by Biblio Distribution (a division of NBN — National Book Network)
Publication date: November 2002
Format: 6 x 9 inches / 176 pages / softcover
Price: CDN$19.95 / US$13.95
ISBN: 1-896511-19-8
Available at retail and online bookstores or by calling 1-800-462-6420

For more information, please contact Pamela Carmen at Callawind Publications:
Tel: (514) 685-9109 / Fax: (514) 685-7952 / E-mail: pamela@callawind.com