Includes bibliographical references and index.

In the Beginning -- Part I: Activists: 1. A folksy preacher brings socialized medicine to North America -- 2. An Ontario boy advises American presidents -- 3. An intellectual prime minister creates a pluralistic beacon -- 4. A military man makes war on genocide -- 5. A law reformer brings war criminals to justice -- 6. A feminist champion warns of a global water crisis -- 7. A "First Nation" activist links climate change to human rights -- 8. A spirited Muslim calls for an Islamic Reformation -- 9. A global activist leads the charge against "disaster capitalism" -- Part II: Visionaires: 10. A media guru awakens the global village -- 11. A matronly cyclist changes the way we inhabit The City -- 12. A pioneering architect builds on his "First Nation" heritage -- 13. A feisty animal lover champions the natural world -- 14. A cyber-guru hails the arrival of digital collaboration -- 15. A wayfinder explores the planet's "ethnosphere" -- 16. An ex-night-schooler takes architecture outside the box -- 17. A fire-eating clown reinvents the circus -- Part III: Artists, Painters, Writers, and Filmakers: 18. A "First Nation" artist enriches world culture -- 19. A Booker Prize winner creates her own country -- 20. Graphic novelists create new channels of communication -- 21. A Japanese Canadian clears the way for minorities -- 22. A literary superstar doubles as an activist -- 23. A transnational filmmaker gives voice to marginalized women -- 24. Which playful inventor built a universe of trivia? -- 25. A blockbuster king ushers movies into the digital era -- Part IV: Hummanitarians: 26. A Mathathon of Hope encircles the globe -- 27. A Haitian immigrant proves that pluralism works -- 28. An eloquent hummanitarian leads the war against AIDS -- 29. A Hollywood hero takes on Parkinson's -- 30. A globe-trotting doctor does her work in war zones -- 31. A precoocious teen leads to a children's crusade -- Part V: Performers Actors, Muscians, and Athletes: 32. A talented Mohawk blazes a trail for "First Nation" actors -- 33. The Canadian comedian makes the world laugh with us -- 34. First this Monreal jazzman took Manhattan -- 35. A nomadic netminder changes the face of hockey -- 36. A Zen troubadour encircles the world with Magic -- 37. An eccentric pianist changes the way we hear music -- 38. A Picasso of song refines self-exprssion -- 38. A gentleman superstar makes hockey a contender -- 40. A nightingale sings French Canada to the world -- 41. A flag-waving rapper tackles trouble in Somalia -- 42. Elite athletes open doors for women -- Part VI: Scientists and Inventors: 43. A memory pioneer lays the foundations of neuroscience -- 44. A Nobel Prize winner points the way to lasers -- 45. An "accidental" discovery transforms human biology -- 46. An enviormental engineer sparks a communications revolution -- 47. An immigrant geneticist battles rare diseases -- 48. An electrical engineer sparks a communications revolution -- 49. An astrophysicist leads the search for life on other planets -- 50. Yesterday's robot is tomorrow's ancestor -- Running on a Roof -- Acknowledgments -- Select References -- Index