Ian Mulgrew – författare

According to Forbes magazine,* marijuana is “Canada’s most valuable agricultural product — bigger than wheat, cattle or timber.” Bud Inc. gives us an inside look at this thriving homegrown industry.Although the cultivation and selling of marijuana remains illegal in Canada, it is already big business, especially in British Columbia. Law enforcement officials estimate that the annual wholesale value of B.C. marijuana is now $6 billion, about 5% of the province’s total economy. If these stats are correct, it is B.C.’s largest export. Ontario and Quebec are not far behind.Vancouver journalist Ian Mulgrew has been following the rise of this underground economy for some time, and knows all the key players, political and entrepreneurial. Comparisons to the rum-runners of the Prohibition era are not unfounded. These so-called “pot barons” are all savvy businessmen who have built their empires using tried and true business models.Cash-strapped governments, pharmaceutical companies and other big businesses are well aware of the potential profits, and Canada has been at the forefront of the global movement to legalize medical marijuana and decriminalize the recreational use of the drug. Estimates vary, but it’s thought that nearly a million people in Canada could benefit from medicinal marijuana, yet only about a thousand are currently legally authorized to use it. Many feel that marijuana should be grown, regulated and taxed like any other commodity.Following the evolution of the marijuana trade from rich kids smuggling it in their luggage, to trans-oceanic operations involving tons of dope, to today’s thriving multi-billion-dollar domestic industry, Bud Inc. is a fascinating study of real-life supply-and-demand economics. *November 2003From the Hardcover edition.

The true story of three enthusiastic (but inexperienced) adventurers who attempt to become the first team to raft the entire length of the Amazon River–all 4,007 miles--and (barely) live to tell about it.To a trio of twenty-something adrenaline junkies, it sounded like an irresistible challenge: tackle the Amazon with nothing more than a rubber raft between them and fate. But when Colin Angus, Ben Kozel, and Scott Borthwick embarked on their fantastic voyage in September 1999, just climbing to the river’s source nearly killed them. Beginning with the dehydration that nearly did the adventurers in as they hiked the Andes to the river''s source, Amazon Extreme is a breathtaking account of the daily challenges, dangers, and triumphs experienced over the course of this five-month expedition. With no money to speak of and inaccurate, fifty-year-old maps to guide them, this intrepid trio manages to persevere through violent rapids, guerilla gunfire, mosquito-infested drinking water, and numerous bouts of sickness. But in spite of several near-death experiences, including one particularly terrifying moment when their raft is toppled in the raging white water, Angus''s crew finds a reverence for the compelling beauty that makes this region so renowned. Amidst the hardship are moments of pure pleasure, from graceful dolphins and lush forests to the intriguing, gracious people who’ve made their homes along the riverbank. An inspiring tale of courage and exploration, this is the story of three guys who truly went off the deep end, and one who came back to write a riveting recollection of it.From the Hardcover edition.

From the Yenisey’s headwaters in the wild heart of central Asia to its mouth on the Arctic Ocean, Colin Angus and his fellow adventurers travel 5,500 kilometres of one of the world’s most dangerous rivers through remotest Mongolia and Siberia, and live to tell about it. Exploration is Colin Angus’ calling. It is not only the tug of excitement and challenge that keeps sending him on death-defying journeys down some of the world’s most powerful waterways, it is a desire to know a place more intimately than you could from the window of a train, to feel the soul of a place. Angus emphasizes that rivers have always been key to the development of complex societies and the rise of civilizations, offering as they do irrigation, transportation, hydroelectric power, and food. But, as Lost in Mongolia captures with breathtaking detail, while they giveth plenty, the great rivers also taketh away in an instant. In Lost in Mongolia, Colin Angus takes readers through never-before-seen territory and his wonderful sense of adventure and humour come through on every page.From the Trade Paperback edition.