{"title":"Leo Burstyn","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"you-may-call-me-lance-a-tale-of-lancelot-the-most-noble-cat-book-leo-burstyn-9781999104825","title":"You may call me Lance A tale of Lancelot the Most Noble Cat","description":"\u003cp\u003eMany cats lead extraordinary lives, but not many are lucky enough to have their adventures documented through the eyes of someone who truly understands them. Sir Lancelot is a legend of a cat, a YouTube star, and a veterinary clinic super host. He has become internet-famous staring in the Helpful Vancouver Vet channel YouTube videos. And now you can marvel at the story of his life as told in his own words and written down by the father of the helpful vet himself, with exclusive access to one of Vancouver's most regal and bewhiskered internet celebrities.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvery person who has adopted a cat from a shelter wonders at some point, usually while looking into those enigmatic eyes half closed in contentment; where did you come from? What was your life like before we met? What hardships did you overcome to, finally and deservedly, land in the luxury of my lap? The cat rarely replies. That is why this book is such a marvel. A chance to see the world through the cats eyes. It is based on personal interviews with Sir Lancelot (with interpretation helpfully provided by his current staff at the veterinary clinic where he resides). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollow the exploits of a young cat as he deals with growing up, adjusting to surviving on the streets and back alleys of a large city and eventually finding his forever home as seen through the eyes of the phlegmatic titular feline. This is a story of loss, adventure, redemption and observational humor that is great for children of all ages, as well as adults who have a special place in their heart for cats and all that cats do. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49573926043921,"sku":"GOR013531945","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50515651756305,"sku":"GOR012928727","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50995456049425,"sku":"NIN9781999104825","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/199910482X.jpg?v=1751316000"},{"product_id":"testaments-from-kiev-book-leo-burstyn-9781773704487","title":"Testaments from Kiev","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the spring of 1986 in Kiev the blooms were on the flowers; the emerald-green leaves on the trees were multiplying and the sun was gathering strength, warming the earth and the hearts of the City's two million people. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe end of another long winter buoyed the spirit of just about anyone living in Ukraine at the time. And Kiev is truly wondrous in the early spring. The vast Dneiper River flow through parts of the City and although temperatures are still cool, the greenery, walkways and blue water of this dominant waterway create a natural pastel of color. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYet as April receded and in the early months of May the biggest issue for residents was a serious shortage of Geiger Counters. They were as scarce as information about the best way of escape from the City, and what lingering health effects might occur if they stayed. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor in the early morning hours of April 26, 1986, an explosion of steam in its core blew the cap off the main reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in nearby Prepyat. In addition to a plume of dangerous radioactive smoke and dust, the resultant open-air graphite fire burned for days. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut worse, the blown main reactor #4 created an updraft which lasted for another nine days. This lofted a plume of fission contamination into the atmosphere that exceeded the release from the original explosion. This radioactive dust would coat Kiev and nearby towns and eventually blanket Western Europe. So in the span of a few hours, every speck of dust, insect or pollen in the springtime air became a potentially lethal toxin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor computer engineer and programmer Leo Burstyn, wife Tanya and their children, life as they knew it came to end on that day. It was the catalyst for their eventual emigration to the West, first to Calgary, Alberta and then to British Columbia. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the aftermath of this nuclear-reactor meltdown also triggered in Leo a burning desire to write about the history of his family throughout the Ukraine. It was a story of generations of a family that endured wars, famine and disasters like Chernobyl. Yet it brought home to him in the most jarring way that a lack of information; official indifference and breathtaking incompetence and malfeasance from the Soviet authorities could place an entire City at risk and ultimately imperil his family, which was so dear to him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheirs is a compelling story of survival, triumph but also of great suffering and loss. And Testaments from Kiev is the result.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52754522276113,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52754522964241,"sku":"NIN9781773704487","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781773704487.jpg?v=1763569491"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-leo-burstyn.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}