Canada's greatest medical breakthrough might well be insulin, but the telephone, the light bulb, the jetliner, the BlackBerry, and basketball also had Canadians behind them. Author John Melady showcases the praiseworthy products, fascinating ideas, and machines with global appeal that the planet owes to Canadians.

Frederick Banting: lifesaver for millions -- Alexander Graham Bell: pioneer communicator -- Mike Lazaridis: genius ahead of his time -- Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans: two friends lighting the world -- James Naismith: a round ball and a world game -- Wilfred Bigelow: heart surgeon and lifesaver -- Peter Robertson: small hand tool, big impact -- Joseph-Armand Bombardier: the man who conquered winter -- Norman Breakey: wall-painter's dream -- Charles Saunders: nourishment for Canada and the world -- Jacques Plante: facing the world's fastest game -- Wilbur Franks: safe suiting for flying -- Sandford Fleming: time for all the world -- Spar Aerospace: an arm from Earth to space -- Arthur Sicard: Making winter roads passable -- Harry Stevinson: finding plane crashes and saving lives -- Jim Floyd: the airplane that should have been -- William Stephenson: pictures without distance -- Wallace Turnbull: all for the way of flight -- Tom Patterson: saving a town with culture -- Tim Horton and Ron Joyce: double-double empire men -- Lester Pearson: a flag unique in the world.