What do Northtrop Frye, French dairy cows, and Historic Fort York have in common? They’re all part of Ward McBurney’s lyric and personal stories from CBC Radio’s Fresh Air, which are now available for the first time in print.

Broadcasting live on Saturday mornings, with Jeff Goodes as host, Ward has been performing his own work for over four years. Sky Train collects 35 of his creative non-fiction pieces, in which Isaac Brock, steam trains, dream trains, Fred Astaire, star fortifications, a tai chi master, truss bridges, ghost soldiers, lost loves, found objects, and, not the least, the author’s pet turtle, all find a home.

A spirit of companionship and urban curiosity informs these stories, which cherish the marginalia of everyday life, while revealing that the past is always just around the present corner.

Ward McBurney has been broadcasting his stories on CBC Radio One's Fresh Air for over four years. He is a contributing editor at Write magazine, and has worked as a bookseller, managing editor, historical interpreter, and farm hand. Ward now freelances from his home in downtown Toronto. Sky Train is his first book.

Ward McBurney's profile page

Ward McBurney has been broadcasting his stories on CBC Radio One's Fresh Air for over four years. He is a contributing editor at Write magazine and has worked as a bookseller, managing editor, historical interpreter, and farm hand. Ward now freelances from his home in downtown Toronto. Sky Train is his first book.

Jeff Goodes' profile page

"...perhaps the most innovative book written on Tibet that I have come across.... Canyon Sam writes eloquently and lyrically about her experiences in Tibet...a tender, personal insight into the spirits of the Tibetans in the face of the near extinction of their culture."

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