Biography

#338 Julia, graphically yours

Julia by Michael Kluckner Vancouver: Midtown Press, 2018 $19.95  /  9781988242200 Reviewed by Yvonne Van Ruskenveld * Born into a wealthy manufacturing family in Durham, England, in 1868, and educated there, Julia Henderson came to Canada in 1884 with her sister and brother-in-law. They settled in Montreal, where Julia married broker and merchant Charles Henshaw…
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#337 True tales of Camelsfoot

First published Jul. 8, 2018. Culture Gap: Towards a New World in the Yalakom Valley by Judith Plant Vancouver: New Star Books, 2017. $19  /  9781554201334 Reviewed by Nancy Janovicek * What had happened to us? Where did it go wrong? What could we have done? What should we have done? What we built together…
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#336 Gathering Gathie

First published Jul. 3, 2018. Apples, etc.: An Artist’s Memoir by Gathie Falk with Robin Laurence Vancouver: Figure 1, 2018. $22.95  /  9781773270128 Reviewed by Sheryl Salloum * The opportunity to sit down with an eminent artist and have that person share their reminiscences is rare. In Apples, etc. An Artist’s Memoir by Gathie Falk…
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#334 Zappa from A to Z

The Big Note: A Guide to the Recordings of Frank Zappa by Charles Ulrich Vancouver: New Star Books, 2018 $45.00  /  9781554201464 Reviewed by Derek von Essen First published July 3, 2018 * I don’t consider myself a Zappa collector. On a scale of one to ten, my level of fandom is around 7.5, though…
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#332 Frank has still got game at 78

First published June 30, 2018. Robin Brunet Let’s Get Frank: Canada’s Mad Man of Advertising Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2018. $29.95  /  9781771621816 Reviewed by Ron Verzuh * Anyone who watched the award-winning TV series Mad Men will be equally discomfited with the advertising industry as depicted in Let’s Get Frank, a biography of…
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#331 Slot canyons for Twomey

Searching for Tao Canyon by Pat Morrow, Jeremy Schmidt, Art Twomey Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2018 $30.00  /  9781771602587 Reviewed by Ron Dart First published June 29, 2018 * The Canadian-American duo of Pat Morrow and Jeremy Schmidt, authors of the acclaimed Himalayan Passage: Seven Months in the High Country of Tibet, Nepal, China, India,…
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#329 From inuksuit to cyberspace

Sculpture in Canada: A History by Maria Tippett Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2017 $39.95  /  9781771620932 Reviewed by Catherine Nutting First published June 26, 2018 * Maria Tippett’s Sculpture in Canada is, she writes, not an encyclopedia, but an introduction; an eye-opener to some of the greatest Canadian sculpture. The book is an ambitious project….
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#326 Up-Island with E.J. Hughes

E.J. Hughes Paints Vancouver Island by Robert Amos, with the participation of the estate of E.J. Hughes Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2018 $35  /  9781771512558 Reviewed by Phyllis Reeve * It’s not easy to paint an arbutus tree, although many artists try. Know in Washington State as Pacific madrone, the arbutus (Arbutus menzeisii) above the 49th…
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#325 Valgardson’s Gothic Valhalla

First published June 20, 2018. In Valhalla’s Shadow by W.D. Valgardson (Douglas & McIntyre, $32) In Norse mythology, Asgard was the dwelling place of the gods, located in another dimension, possibly the sky or a different planet. It was divided into at least twelve realms; Valhalla being one. Valhalla was the home of Odin and…
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#322 Stephen Reid (1950-2018)

First published June 14, 2018. Stephen Reid has died at age 68 of pulmonary edema and third-degree heart block in the hospital at Masset, B.C., on June 12, 2018. Following Reid’s death, Masset Mayor Andrew Merilees commented, “He was always friendly and pleasant. He was enjoyed by most of the community despite his past failings.”…
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#321 West Kootenay memories

First published June 13, 2019. Children of the Kootenays: Memories of Mining Towns by Shirley D. Stainton Victoria: Heritage House, 2018. $19.95  /  9781772031850 Reviewed by Sylvia Crooks * Several books have been written about the Kootenay mines and mining settlements, many of them now ghost towns, abandoned largely during the Great Depression. Now Shirley…
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#318 A witness to persecution in China

First published June 6, 2018. The Unceasing Storm: Memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution by Katherine Luo, foreword by Madeleine Thien Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2018. $22.95  /   9781771621861 Reviewed by Vivienne Poy * Many personal accounts have been written about tumultuous modern China, but there is a difference in Katherine Luo’s book. We…
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#316 Nak’adli Nation honours Kw’eh

Remembering Chief Kw’eh compiled by Lillian Sam and Frieda Klippenstein Fort St. James: Nak’azdli Whut’en Press, 2016 $10 / 9780995286900 Reviewed by Daniel Sims First published June 3, 2018 * The Nak’azdli Chief ‘Ulh’gweh–aka Chief Kw’eh or Chief Kwah–is mostly widely known as the man who spared the life of (future Sir) James Douglas. Nak’azdli…
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#314 E.J. Hughes renewed

E.J. Hughes Paints Vancouver Island by Robert Amos, with the participation of the estate of E.J. Hughes Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2018 $35.00  /  9781771512558 Reviewed by Alan Twigg First published June 1, 2018 * “B.C. is the best place in the world for landscape subject matter.” — E.J. Hughes “One of the main reasons I…
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#313 Doreen Armitage (1931-2018)

First published June 1, 2018. Born in Toronto on August 14, 1931, Doreen Alice Ellen (Hayes) Armitage died at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver on May 15, 2018. A writer who believed strongly in oral history, Armitage wrote for publications such as Canadian Geographic, Outdoors Canada and Canadian Living before publishing her first book,…
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#311 I fought the law, and the dog won

The Dog Lover Unit: Lessons in Courage from the World’s K9 Cops by Rachel Rose New York: St. Martin’s Press (Macmillan Publishers), 2017 $28.99  /  9781250110749 Reviewed by Bonnie Reilly Schmidt First published May 30, 2018 * Rachel Rose’s The Dog Lover Unit: Lessons in Courage from the World’s K9 Cops is a surprising departure…
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#309 Christy Clark’s downfall

First published May 28, 2018. A Matter of Confidence: The Inside Story of the Political Battle for BC by Rob Shaw and Richard Zussman Victoria: Heritage House, 2018. $22.95  /  9781772032543 Reviewed by Hamish Telford * The British Columbia provincial election on May 9, 2017 was one for the history books. After a long night…
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#307 Why Liberals dominate federally

First published May 24, 2018. The Canadian Party System: An Analytic History by Richard Johnston Vancouver: UBC Press, 2017. $55  /  9780774836074 Reviewed by Adam Coombs *      Few political parties in countries within the Westminster political system have been as successful over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries as the Liberal Party…
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#305 Finding the Erebus and Terror

Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition by Paul Watson Toronto: Penguin Random House (McClelland & Stewart), 2017 $34.95  /  9780771096525 Reviewed by Walter O. Volovsek First published May 17, 2018 * Based in Coquitlam, B.C., the remarkable Paul Watson–not to confused with that Sea Shepherd captain also named Paul Watson who…
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