“Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa begins with a conversation about her discovery and research into the one empirical example of an ancient practice, the raising of almost but not quite domestic animals who lived in isolation to protect them from inbreeding and physical damage, animals bred to provide the weft in essential weavings.” Linda Rogers reviews The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog, by Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa et al (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2025) $36.95 / 9781998526024
“The setting of Wildcraft Medicine is Clayoquot Sound where Wray gained most of her knowledge of healing plants from Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers. Her early years were spent in Powell River, then her family moved to West Vancouver where she met First Nations Medicine Woman Norma Myers, who played an important role in her education in plant medicine. As a mother, she turned to plants to for the medicinal needs of her family through childhood viruses and infections, as well as afflictions that affected the adults, as well as her pets.” Cathalynn Labonté-Smith reviews Wildcraft Medicine: In the Presence of Wonder, by Sheila Anne Wray (Victoria: FriesenPress, 2025) $43.99 / 9781039197220
“In this, the third (Giblin says last) of his books on the fishing-guide life and the odd, quirky characters of this profession and region, The Trophy Hunter: The Final Chronicles of a West Coast Fishing Guide, we renew acquaintance with the Lodge’s residents and their favourite fishing holes.” Marianne Scott reviews The Trophy Hunter: The Final Chronicles of a West Coast Fishing Guide, by David Giblin (Victoria: Heritage House, 2025) $24.95 / 9781772035551
“On the subject of misconceptions the author explains what archaeology is and what it isn’t. Archaeology is the story of the human past based on the things left behind by humans. It isn’t treasure hunting or looking for dinosaur bones with the thrill of digging around in the ground. Archaeology is part of the heritage industry. If a study isn’t based on humans and what is left from human activity it isn’t archaeology.” Steven Brown reviews Once upon This Land: Archaeology in British Columbia and the Stories It Tells, by Robert J. Muckle (Vancouver: Purich Books, 2025) $29.95 / 9780774881081
“In Medicine Wheel for the Planet, Dr. Grenz has created a provocative, moving, and timely book which every scientist and student, whether Western or Indigenous, should read.” Kenneth Favrholdt reviews Medicine Wheel for the Planet: A Journey Toward Personal and Ecological Healing, by Dr. Jennifer Grenz (Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2024) $23 / 9781039006034
“Without the karst environment, Haida Gwaii would lose much of its appeal for cave-based investigations. The name karst stems from Kras, a region in Croatia. Besides the Balkans, karst landscapes are found in southern Asia, Indonesia, Tasmania, New Zealand, the southern United States, and of course, British Columbia.” Katy Dycus writes about archeological discovery on Haida Gwaii in the ‘lost world’ of the karst caves.
“Chapter by chapter Dr. Bonnell highlights the slow progression of wildlife use, exploitation, and conservation from the original inhabitants to the fur trade and then the influx of miners and settlers.” Dennis A. Demarchi reviews Stewards of Splendour: A History of Wildlife and People in British Columbia, by Jennifer Bonnell (Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum, 2023) $34.95 / 9781039900004
“The 36 chapters in My Soul Lives in these Mountains combine a series of linked stories, poems and paintings that makes this book a finely threaded together collection of geology, history, amusing treks taken, research done as part of the larger project for Chilliwack Search and Rescue-RCMP and a valuable telling of the three fatal airplane crashes in the area.” Ron Dart reviews My Soul Lives in these Mountains: A Collection of Stories, Poems and Paintings of the Chilliwack Cascades —Land of the Ts’elxwéyeqw, by Peter D. Scott (Surrey: Hancock House, 2024) $24.95 / 9780888397881
“Paul Zizka’s compelling and creative images in The Canadian Rockies: Rediscovered are in the highest reach of ‘A’ level evocative photographs. The front cover of the book, ice climber ascending, soft purple northern lights backdrop, focused light on the climber a definite promise and hint of visual beauties to come—such creatively distinct approaches to the Rockies summon forth, for those who have lingered long in such enticing grails of the soul, a longing to return to deeper places.” Ron Dart reviews The Canadian Rockies: Rediscovered, Photographs by Paul Zizka (Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2025) $40 / 9781771607391
“…Woodruff is to be commended for eschewing preachiness: she does not pontificate on the ills of drink so much as illustrate the deleterious impact a culture focused on alcohol can have on particular individuals, while drawing on research to reinforce her lived experience.” Ginny Ratsoy reviews Blind Drunk: A Sober Look at our Boozy Culture, by Veronica Woodruff (New Westminster: Tidewater Press, 2025) $24.95 / 9781990160462
“Throughout the book, Hafting weaves a powerful thread of connection—not just between birds and humans but between people themselves. ‘Birds connect us and reflect how we are connected to those we love,’ she observes. That sentiment lingered in my mind long after I closed the book.” Amy Tucker reviews Dare to Bird: Exploring the Joy and Healing Power of Birds, by Melissa Hafting (Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2024) $45 / 9781771606547
“At once entrancing and deeply comforting, Bradbury takes readers on a journey to those places that are so near and dear to our hearts, but which we may have forgotten about in the noise and chaos and pressures of life.” Natalie Virginia Lang reviews Journeys To the Nearby: A Gardener Discovers the Gentle Art of Untravelling, by Elspeth Bradbury (Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2025) $22.95 / 9781553807247
“This book is a complete reference book for readers who enjoy the beauty of trees. There is an in-depth index that enables the reader to look up a particular tree and find its story. Alternatively, the book allows you to wander the streets of Greater Victoria and discover all the surprises.” Valerie Green reviews Trees of Victoria: A Wanderer’s Guide, by Collin Varner (Victoria: Heritage House, 2025) $26.95 / 9781772035339
“Dombrowski’s passion for nature is evident throughout, making it clear that this book is as much about inspiring families to explore as it is about providing practical information.” Amy Tucker reviews Family Walks and Hikes of Vancouver Island, Volume 2: Nanaimo North to Strathcona Park (Revised Edition) by Theo Dombrowski (Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2025) $22 / 9781771607438
“Although he isn’t related to George Vancouver’s former botanist and surgeon aboard the HMS Discovery, Archibald Menzies experienced extraordinary times, times that Graeme Menzies felt had to be shared. The result was the book Bones: The Life and Adventures of Doctor Archibald Menzies, in which Graeme Menzies tells of how the doctor used reason and his senses, as well as his familiarity of the Scottish clan system, to understand what he found as the lone scientist on board that British vessel of exploration.” Trevor Marc Hughes presents an interview segment featuring Vancouver author and historian Graeme Menzies.
“This book offers a whole new adventure for naturalists, botanists and all those who love the natural world, luring all of us into the outdoors, to check out the plant relationships reflected in the different sections, to see those plants we are familiar with as parts of a larger complex, and to get to know the smaller, perhaps previously overlooked species that have now been introduced to us in such intriguing ways.” Nancy J. Turner reviews Native Plants of British Columbia’s Coastal Dry Belt: A Photographic Guide by Hans Roemer and Mary Sanseverino (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2025)
$29.95 / 9781998526000
“Joseph’s book is more than a field guide to plants. It reflects her philosophy and love of nature.” Kenneth Favrholdt reviews Held By The Land: A Guide to Indigenous Plants for Wellness, by Leigh Joseph (New York: Wellfleet Press, 2023) $24.99 / 9781577152941 & Held by the Land Deck: 45 Ways to Use Indigenous Plants for Healing and Nourishment, by Leigh Joseph (New York: Wellfleet Press, 2024) $19.99 / 9781577154440
“More than just a travel guide, Ellison’s book is an invitation to embrace an underrated adventure that reveals a world teeming with vibrant marine life, from giant Pacific octopuses to fields of colorful anemones and elusive nudibranchs.” Amy Tucker reviews Snorkelling Adventures Around Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands: The Ultimate Guide, by Sara Ellison (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2023) $26.95 / 9781990776151
“But Archibald – author Graeme Menzies uses his given name rather than his surname – is vocally against the plundering and abuse of the First Nations his ships encountered. In fact, he befriended them during his two round-the-world voyages that brought him to the west coast of Vancouver Island.” Ron Verzuh reviews Bones: The Life and Adventures of Doctor Archibald Menzies, by Graeme Menzies (Dunbeath, Scotland: Whittles Publishing, 2024) $23.95 / 9781849955911
“The absence of major nuclear reactors in British Columbia may lead British Columbians to believe that nuclear energy is not an immediate concern. Not so. It is important to remember that, from its inception in 1961, BC Hydro has repeatedly proposed building reactors in the earthquake-prone Lower Mainland.” Dr. Loys Maingon reviews Nuclear Is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change by M.V. Ramana (Brooklyn, NY: Verso, 2024) $39.95 / 9781804290002
