“Masuda’s memoir itself takes up most of the space in this slim volume, and reading it transported me to 1945, journeying with this young, displaced soldier whose goal is to either be reunited with his family, living to the north in Sŏngjin, or to cross southward at the 38th parallel to territory controlled by the Americans. What made this a unique reading experience was the personal nature of this piece, written for family and not for publication. It was heartfelt and refreshingly unpolished.” Trish Bowering reviews The Broken Map Home: Escaping Korea, 1945, by Konosuke Masuda (translated by Keiko Honda) (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2025) $22 / 9781773861760
“Like Lester’s other American history graphic novels previously reviewed here, Revolution By Fire and Prophet Against Slavery, the action steams off the page through simply wrought black and white scenes that allow readers to literally feel the ‘electric effects’ of the rebellion and its aftermath.” Ron Verzuh reviews The Black Schooner: Rebellion on the Amistad, A Graphic Novel, by David Lester and Mark Rediker with Paul Buhle (Boston: Beacon Press, 2026) $18.95 / 9780807016909
“Other than Apicius, there were no other cookbooks authored in Europe until the 13th century when they began to appear in local languages. The popularity of cookbook writing began in the 10th century in Baghdad and then spread all over Europe. I’ve found no clues as to what Italians ate before Apicius’ Persian-influenced cookbook De Re Coquinaria.” Edward Henderson contributes his essay, Persian influence on Italian cuisine, written initially as a Graduate Liberal Studies term paper at Simon Fraser University.
“Scholar George M. Johnson just took early retirement from Thompson Rivers University, and has he been productive. Not only is he a Children’s author, but he’s also a screenwriter and playwright. But recently, as he updates The British Columbia Review from the banks of the North Thompson River in Kamloops, it has been his social activism through his songwriting and performing that has defined him, tackling such timely topics as the debt faced by developing nations and the climate crisis facing us all.” Trevor Marc Hughes presents an interview with Kamloops scholar, screenwriter, playwright, Children’s writer….and songwriter…George M. Johnson.
“Gerson does not neglect literary greats like Shakespeare, Dickens, and Longfellow, and also pays tribute to more modern writers like Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood. Although this book is a heavy academic read, themes of humour are also included to lighten the dense and weighty text.” Valerie Green reviews Literary Life After Death: Commemorations of Writers in English-Speaking Canada, by Carole Gerson (Montreal: Concordia University Press, 2026) $34.95 / 9781988111667
“Victoria-based historian Michael Layland, for whom this book is a departure in several respects, does a fine job of not only piecing together Philip Hankin’s life using the man’s sometimes sketchy written memoir, but also in associating the major figures and events of the day that have assembled the province we now call home.” Trevor Marc Hughes reviews Turmoil: The Life & Times of Philip Hankin, by Michael Layland (Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2025) $35 / 9781771514712
“The introduction closes with three words that have stayed with me since I turned the final page: “Let’s get kicking.” With the World Cup having arrived in Vancouver and Toronto, with Canada playing on home soil for the first time in its history, that line reads less like a closing sentiment and more like an opening whistle for something we have spent our whole sporting lives waiting to hear.” Amy Tucker reviews Winning Pitch: The Canadian Men’s Soccer Team at the World Cup and Beyond, by Murray Mollard (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2026) $26.95 / 9781998526598
“Thanh, a prize-winning novelist and memoirist, admitted that media technology wasn’t her strength, but agreed to look at the narrative that had been assembled to that point by other sympathetic activists. She also connected online with Kanafani and swiftly established a bond.” Larry Hannant reviews Pizza Before We Die: An Eyewitness Account in Gaza, by Hassan Kanafani, with Yasuko Thanh (Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2026) $19.95 / 9781834050324
“The way the book reveals the ‘making’ of the ‘pacifist’ is all the more compelling because, as the writer of a memoir, Maloff demonstrates that he is ‘made’ a pacifist not through external pressures, but, instead through his own quest for values to live by.” Theo Dombrowski reviews They Called Him a Radical: The Memoirs of Pete Maloff and the Making of a Doukhobor Pacifist, by Pete Maloff (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2024) $26 / 9781773861340
“Spying on America was published in 2026 but the trip itself was made several years earlier, in the time of Covid and the interregnum between the two Trump terms. Enough has happened in that gap that the book contains an epilogue, ‘From the Rearview,’ which is partly a ‘where are they now?’ update on the main characters in the story, but more importantly an attempt to answer the question that I keep asking myself and anybody else who will listen. The question isn’t about Trump at all, because the whole world already knows what he is, and what America has become. Instead, it’s ‘Who in God’s name voted for this person, and why would they do it twice?'” Brian Harvey reviews Spying on America, by Bill Gaston (Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 2026) $26 / 9781773104652
“As the primary editor Deborah (Devora) Ross-Grayman explains in the book’s preface, the writings here took root as the result of meetings of the Vancouver Second-Generation (2G) Group. All of the twelve writers represented here are the offspring of Holocaust survivors (or, in one instance, a survivor himself).” Heidi Greco reviews Voices of Resilience: An Anthology of Stories Written by Children of Holocaust Survivors, by Deborah (Devora) Ross-Grayman, with Wendy Bancroft & The Writers (eds.) (The Netherlands: Amsterdam Publishers, 2026) $24.95 / 9789493418608
“There are still a few instances of righteous indignation and conspiracy theory, but these are easy to spot and disregard. There is happily much less of the defamatory innuendo about “rent-seeking” which stained too many chapters in Grave Error. The overall tone of Dead Wrong—despite its provocative title, the publisher’s preface, and a couple of other instances—seems much less frenzied. But most important, every chapter of this book contains something British Columbians may not have known and ought to have the chance to think about. Some chapters particularly so.” Richard Butler reviews Dead Wrong: How Canada Got the Residential School Story So Wrong
by C.P. Champion and Tom Flanagan (Ottawa: True North, 2025) $22.99 / 9798274120593
“The story of the mistreated tunnel workers may sound familiar. In rough outline, the it begins with an Italian tunnelling company, SELI, tasked with a major project in Vancouver. Finding no Canadians responding to their ads, the company recruited experienced workers from Latin America, attracting them with comparatively high payment and side benefits such as accommodation. As it turned out, the wages, though higher than what they were used to, were a small fraction of Canadian wages for similar work—and significantly lower than those of Europeans subsequently hired by the same company.” Theo Dombrowski reviews A Fight for Justice: The Compelling Story of Temporary Foreign Workers & Human Rights, by Joe Barrett (Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2026) $26.95 / 9781553807391
“This book is a story about the past. History, of course, contains the word ‘story.’ History was for so long his story whereas this one is her story. It is the story of Florence Wilson, a woman who lived much of her life in a man’s world. But here is the thing, if history is a story does that mean that a story is history? Let’s see.” Robin Fisher reviews Bloomsbury to Barkerville: The Life of Florence Wilson, by Marion McKinnon Crook (Victoria: Heritage House Publishing, 2026) $26.95 / 9781772035643
“Memories and anecdotes from the past make their way into many of the essays. He writes about family, high school, friendships, travelling, loneliness, and most significantly his relationship with Litia, his wife. Two of the essays are about the family dog. The author, who lives in Vancouver, is witty, curious, nostalgic, analytical and overly solemn. He has a way of noticing odd details and meaningful moments that pass us by when we are with those closest to us.” Bill Paul reviews Decadence, by Richard Kelly Kemick (Windsor: Biblioasis, 2026) $24.95 / 9781771967136
“What is Sveva’s achievement? In visual terms, she has left a compelling body of work that is both challenging and uplifting. In psychological terms, she goes through a ‘dark night of the soul’ and achieves what was, for her, a state of enlightenment. She uses all of her knowledge of commentators on the human condition throughout the ages as signs and guide posts throughout her journey. She also draws on her extensive knowledge of the visual arts and, on occasion, paints an homage to someone who she found particularly inspiring.” Adriana A. Davies contributes the essay Sveva Caetani: From Old to New World and Back
“This expertly curated and well-composed book intends to rectify Wakayama’s relative obscurity. He is both the subject of Enemy Alien and, to a large extent, its author.” Philip Huynh reviews Enemy Alien: Tamio Wakayama, by Paul Wong (ed.) (Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing, 2025) $40 / 9781773272801
“Darcy describes her struggles as the only woman or one of few in the corridors and meeting halls of union power. For those of us who were there, can I have an Amen, Sister; for those now used to seeing women in positions of union leadership, it could be instructive to learn how it was, not so long ago, for a woman in a union leadership position to speak truth to power – to both sides of the table.” Wendy Burton reviews Leading from the Heart: The Battles of a Feminist, Union Leader and Politician, by Judy Darcy (Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2026) $40 / 9781771625043
“Considering author and journalist Craig Taylor has had such cosmopolitan addresses as London and New York, and such impressive credentials, such as writing for The Guardian, finding him on the quiet shores of Protection Island just off of Nanaimo is surprising.” Trevor Marc Hughes presents an interview segment with author Craig Taylor, filmed on Protection Island.
“Early in Rob Simpson’s affectionate tribute to his co-author/subject, we learn that Bill McCreary (2014) is one of only two NHL on-ice officials inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this century, the other being linesman Ray Scapinello (2008). Is this an indication of both men’s exceptional contributions to the sport, or more a reflection of the sorry state of on-ice officiating since 1999? Or both? Whatever the case, it is fair to say that the gravitas referees once enjoyed in the world’s premier hockey league has diminished since McCreary first put on the NHL zebra stripes in 1984.” Daniel Gawthrop reviews Stories from Ice Level: A Great NHL Referee Tells All, by Rob Simpson with Bill McCreary (Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2026) $24.95 / 9781771624824
