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…
Read more #305 Finding the Erebus and Terror
First published May 17, 2018. “In all my writing, I explore the slipperiness of morality and identity in the face of extreme loss and threat, though the settings and circumstances change with each novel.” — Nancy Richler. All of Nancy Richler’s novels were written in Vancouver. The first of these, Throwaway Angels, was shortlisted for…
Read more #304 Nancy Richler (1957-2018)
Alan Caswell Collier, Relief Stiff: An Artist’s Letters from Depression-era British Columbia by Peter Neary (editor) Vancouver: UBC Press, 2018 $45.00 / 9780774834988 Reviewed by Daniel Francis First published May 8, 2018 * Most British Columbians live within an easy drive of one of the unemployment relief camps established by the federal government during the…
Read more #302 Middle class artist on relief
First published May 4, 2018. An obituary on this site has already recorded the life and times — and books — of Al Neil. But there’s nothing like a personal reminiscence–or three–to reveal how extraordinary and perplexing and difficult and odd he could be. 1. In…
Read more #298 Three tributes to Al Neil
Memoir: Margaret’s Ormsby’s milieu by Daniel Marshall * The influence of Quesnel-born B.C. historian Margaret Anchoretta Ormsby (1909-1996) on younger generations of scholars and readers continues more than two decades after her death. Not only has The Ormsby Review perpetuated her name — and we hope her commitment to the culture and literature of British…
Read more #296 Margaret’s Ormsby’s milieu
A Legacy of Canadian Art, from Kelowna Collections by Roger H. Boulet Kelowna: The Kelowna Art Gallery, 2017 $15.00 / 9781896749860 Reviewed by Maria Tippett First posted April 23, 2018 * Drawn from eight private collections in Kelowna as well as from the permanent collection of the Kelowna Art Gallery, A Legacy of Canadian Art, from…
Read more #292 Hidden gems in Kelowna
The Clean Money Revolution: Reinventing Power, Purpose, and Capitalism by Joel Solomon with Tyee Bridge Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers, 2017 $29.99 / 9780865718395 Reviewed by Jawad Qureshy First published April 2, 2018 * Born in Tennessee in 1954, Joel Solomon was educated at Vassar College, worked as national youth co-ordinator on Jimmy Carter’s election campaign…
Read more #279 The wisdom of Solomon
Alan Fry (1931-2018) An obituary by Alan Twigg First published March 30, 2018 * Whistleblowers are seldom cited as heroes—especially those who can be dismissed as crackpot racists. The importance of Federal Indian Agent Alan Fry’s first novel and second book, How a People Die (Doubleday 1970; Harbour 1994), has therefore gradually been glossed over,…
Read more #276 Alan Fry (1931-2018)
Morrison: The Long-lost Memoir of Canada’s Artillery Commander in the Great War. Major-General Sir Edward Morrison by Susan Raby-Dunne (editor) Victoria: Heritage House Publishing, 2017 $22.95 / 9781772032147 Reviewed by Michael Sasges First published March 15, 2019 * Edward Morrison was one of no more than fifty general officers who directed Canadian Corps battlefield activities…
Read more #264 From John McCrae to Morrison
Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi: Teachings from Long Ago Person Found by Richard J. Hebda, Sheila Greer, and Alexander Mackie (editors) Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum, 2017 $49.95 / 9780772666994 Reviewed by Tom Koppel First published March 7, 2018 * It was back in August of 1999, in the northwest corner of British Columbia, in the traditional territory of…
Read more #261 Tatshenshini Man
ESSAY: I’m not your man: Norman Bethune & women by Larry Hannant First published Feb. 28, 2018 * Doctor, medical innovator, propagandist, artist, political activist — Norman Bethune is nothing if not multitalented. The same complexity marks his character. The accounts of friends and acquaintances portray a man whose personality was multifaceted and contradictory, at once…
Read more #256 Bethune: I’m not your man
The Spitfire Luck of Skeets Ogilvie: From the Battle of Britain to the Great Escape by Keith Ogilvie Victoria: Heritage House, 2017 $22.95 / 9781772032116 Reviewed by Michael Sasges First published Feb. 28, 2018 * The Spitfire Luck of Skeets Ogilvie tells the story of two Canadians who made an ordinary life together after some extraordinary…
Read more #255 Spitfire luck of Skeets Ogilvie
INTERVIEW: Rachel Rose with mutt maven Stanley Coren April 26, 2018 * Having produced possibly the bestselling non-fiction book about dogs ever written, The Intelligence of Dogs, as well as Why We Love The Dogs We Do, Dr. Stanley Coren has a career that most writers and researchers only dream of; his lectures at UBC routinely…
Read more #243 Going to the dogs with Stanley Coren
Red Robinson: The Last Deejay by Robin Brunet Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2016 $29.95 / 9781550177695 Reviewed by Lani Russwurm First published Jan, 25, 2018 From vaudeville to punk rock, entertainment looms larger than it probably should in Vancouver’s history, considering the city’s dinky stature for most of its existence. One reason for this is…
Read more #239 And here’s to you, Mr. Robinson
The unforgettable Major Matthews: A memoir of 1969 by John Pass First published Jan. 23, 2018 * We are pleased to unveil a memoir by the award-winning poet John Pass (born 1947) from the summer of 1969 when he crossed paths with Vancouver’s first archivist, the one and only Major J.S. Matthews, an Imperial bulldog…
Read more #238 Unforgettable Major Matthews
First published Jan. 18, 2018. The Mighty Hughes: From Prairie Lawyer to Western Canada’s Moral Compass by Craig McInnes Victoria: Heritage House, 2017. $32.95 / 9781772032055 Reviewed by John McLaren * In Canada, biographies of appointed public servants are few and far between, compared with those of politicians. These days even judges are the focus…
Read more #234 Ted Hughes, Titan of Fairness
First published Jan. 17, 2018. In the Trump era, George Orwell’s insights resonate profoundly. Stephen Wadhams’ The Orwell Tapes is a collection of memories from those who crossed paths with the complex character who first described Big Brother, thoughtcrime, Newspeak and doublethink. The Orwell Tapes Vancouver: Locarno Press by Stephen Wadhams $18.50 / 9780995994614 *…
Read more #233 The malleable truth
First published Jan. 8, 2018. It Can Be Done: An Ordinary Man’s Extraordinary Success by Chick Stewart and Michele Carter Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2017. $32.95 / 9781550178005 Reviewed by Michel Vallée Donald “Chick” Stewart moved to B.C. from a chicken farm in Manitoba in 1942 when he was fifteen years old. His first…
Read more #229 Youbou logger to S&R king
First published Dec. 20, 2017. Louis Riel: Let Justice Be Done by David Doyle Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2017. $24.95 / 978-1-55380-496-3 Reviewed by Max Hamon * Few Canadians have been more misunderstood and controversial than Louis Riel. Now that Canadians are even re-assessing the reputation of our first prime minister, David Doyle’s Louis Riel: Let…
Read more #226 Rescuing Riel, revising history
The sacred sandbar of Squamish by Alan Twigg First published Dec. 15, 2017 * Should the B.C. publishing industry ever require validation—which it shouldn’t, given the bang for the buck it renders in return for minimal subsidization—its foremost calling card is most certainly the hundreds of superb books produced for, about and by the First…
Read more #221 The sacred sandbar of Squamish