In the Terrible Weather of Guns is a book of poems and short prose pieces that tell the story of the life and times of Irish immigrant, Joseph Willcocks. Arriving in Upper Canada penniless in 1800, he was by turns a personal secretary, sheriff of the Home District, and publisher of the first political newspaper in Upper Canada. He was an elected representative in the legislature at York and fought valiantly for the British in the bloody war of 1812. In beautifully evocative language, John B. Lee’s study of Willcocks highlights the complexities of a talented man who crossed over to the Americans and died in dishonour during one of the most violent episodes in Canadian history.