Lysiane Gagnon, Globe & Mail
Some of his best friends were millionaires, some were complete nobodies who just happened to sit on a barstool next to his. Some were alcoholics, and some were teetotallers. Some were separatists and some were ferocious anti-separatists. This says a lot about the personality of Nick but even more about the real life of Montreal.

Mordecai Richler
Nick was a cherished friend. An original.

L. Ian MacDonald, from the preface
Nick Auf der Maur was in journalism and politics. He thought there was honour in both. He also thought both should be fun. He was primarily a newspaper columnist, not a crusader, but a storyteller in love with his city, Montreal.

Book Description
Nick Auf der Maur led a uniquely Montreal life that he shared with readers of his column in The Gazette. "He wrote about Montreal the way Jimmy Breslin wrote about New York," a colleague commented. "It wouldn't work anywhere else, but there were universal moments of truth in it." Other cities existed, in Nick's mind, mostly to be compared with Montreal. And everyone who came through Montreal met Nick. From Rudolf Nureyev to Jack Kerouac. From Conrad Black to Courtney Love. He wrote about them all, as he wrote about politics, sports, food and life after dark. In the last year of his life, he also wrote, with courage that touched thousands, of his illness. In this posthumous collection, the first of Nick's columns, Vhicule Press brings you the best of Nick. The introduction is by Nick's friend Mordecai Richler, with whom he shared many a working lunch in his office on Crescent Street. Illustrations of Nick over the years are by Aislin. The collection is edited by Dave Bist of The Gazette. Among Nick's friends who contributed to the book are: Warren Allmand, Hubert Bauch, Allan Fotheringham, Josh Freed, John Lynch-Staunton, L. Ian MacDonald, Margo MacGillivray, Brian McKenna, Terry Mosher, Brian Mulroney, Stephen Phizicky, Jake Richler, Mark Starowicz, Brian Stewart, Bernard St. Laurent and Anthony Wilson-Smith. His daughter Melissa adds a postcript. The effect of Nick, and his work on his fellow Montrealers was apparent with his passing in April 1998, when nearly 3,000 people came to his funeral at St. Patrick's Basilica. All the net proceeds from Nick: A Montreal life, including author royalties and the publisher's profits, will be contributed to the Nick Auf der Maur Memorial Fund at the Montreal General Hospital.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Nick Auf der Maur led a uniquely Montreal life that he shared with readers of his column in the Montreal Gazette. In this posthumous collection of his columns, V￯﾿ﾽhicule Press brings you the best of Nick. "He wrote about Montreal the way Jimmy Breslin wrote about New York," a colleague commented. "It wouldn't work anywhere else, but there were universal moments of truth in it." He wrote about people, as he wrote about politics, sports, food and life after dark. In the last year of his life, he also wrote of his illness with courage that touched thousands.

FROM THE CRITICS

Globe & Mail

"Some of his best friends were millionaires, some were complete nobodies who just happened to sit on a barstool next to his. Some were alcoholics, and some were teetotallers. Some were separatists and some were ferocious anti-separatists. This says a lot about the personality of Nick but even more about the real life of Montreal."