“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
“Fisher and Dickinson worked together for decades to preserve the history of Atlin. Tales, Trials and Triumphs makes a valuable contribution to this preservation. Though the book is largely a collection of photographs, its text is substantial and substantive, complementing and explaining the hundreds of black & white and colour photos and maps.” Howard MacDonald Stewart reviews Tales, Trials and Triumphs: Echoes of Atlin, by Kate Fisher and Christine Dickinson (Atlin: Atlin Historical Society, 2025) $50 / 9781069075604
“Before I read Liz’s book, I wondered how both Liz and David sourced the strength to navigate the myriad of disconnections caused by dementia. The loneliness, the grief, and, ultimately, his death. Against relentless adversity, they sustained their love.” Lee Reid reviews Love in a Different Way: A Journey Through Dementia by Liz and David Amaral (Nelson: Amazon, 2025) $28.10 / 9781834180823
“Arnott’s storytelling has some of the qualities of Mark Twain floating down the Mississippi or Walt Whitman strolling the Great White Way. Lord Byron, too, comes to mind with his peripatetic Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. But perhaps this travel memoir is more akin to John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. More like Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods.” Ron Verzuh reviews A Season in the Okanagan, by Bill Arnott (Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2025) $20 / 9781771607247
“Adhiya tells us that Terry was an ordinary teenager, an athlete who dreamt of one day becoming a teacher and sports coach. He also faced many challenges as a child such as being short. He never let those things bother him.” Valerie Green reviews Hope by Terry Fox, by Barbara Adhiya (ed.) (Toronto: ECW Press, 2024) $30 / 9781770416819
“Blanchet was a single mum after her husband’s disappearance. He apparently fell from the family’s boat, Caprice. Nevertheless, she kept the vessel and explored the Salish Sea from Puget Sound to Queen Charlotte Sound.” Marianne Scott reviews The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2024 revised edition) $19.95 / 9781990776786
“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
“Readers of Ted Binnema’s The Vancouver Island Treaties will gain a greater insight into a formative piece of British Columbia history. For this book is history as it should be. Here is how it is done.” Robin Fisher reviews The Vancouver Island Treaties and the Evolving Principles of Indigenous Title, by Ted Binnema (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2025) $44.95 / 9781487554095
“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
“Mather, who has worked at Fort Edmonton and Barkerville and in 1984 became manager and curator of the Historic O’Keefe Ranch, is well placed to write on his subject. He is able to draw on the O’Keefe archives and his O’Keefe family contacts, including the Indigenous descendants, to assemble a highly detailed account.” Ian Pooley reviews The O’Keefes of O’kanagan: The Families of O’Keefe Ranch, by Ken Mather (Victoria: Heritage House, 2025) $34.95 / 9781772035377
“A few short paragraphs on the deep red inside cover lays out the deeply serious content. John Scott is identified by the years of his life (1949-2022) along with two of his main streams of images—graphically brutal war machinery and, in contrast, strange and vulnerable humanoids.” John Scott: Firestorm, by Dr. John O’Brian (Victoria: Figure 1 Publishing, 2024) $50 / 9781773272726
“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
“But make no mistake—the incorporation into federal and British Columbia laws of the principles of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the recent recognition of Haida title and the Heiltsuk establishment of a constitution are not merely rumblings. They and other recent events represent a tectonic shift that will have profound legal and social implications. The results need not be catastrophic, as some might fear, but they will certainly be disruptive.” Richard Butler reviews Indigenous Intellectual Property: An Interrupted Intergenerational Conversation by Val Napoleon, Rebecca Johnson, Richard Overstall and Debra McKenzie (eds.) (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2024) $32.95 / 9781487558222 & Creating Indigenous Property: Power, Rights and Relationships by Angela Cameron, Sari Graben and Val Napoleon (eds.)(Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2020) $45.95 / 9781487523824
“At a time when Canadians are cancelling their vacations to the US at a rate never before seen in history, and looking for alternatives, Pacific Palate is the answer. It’s a foodie guidebook for one of the most beautiful places in Canada. It’s an invitation to slow down, sip, savour, appreciate, ask questions, and indulge your curiosity.” Rebecca Coleman reviews Pacific Palate: Food Artisans of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands (2nd edition), by Don Genova (Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2025) $28 / 9781771514262
“I don’t think of myself as an author,” begins acclaimed curator Catherine Clement, “I think of myself as a street historian or community historian first, and the only reason I create books is to solidify those memories, to lock them in for future generations to find.” Trevor Marc Hughes presents an interview segment featuring Vancouver curator and historian Catherine Clement.
“Milk Into Cheese brings cheesemaking to life, with Asher’s passion for teaching and his engaging style. Whether or not one agrees with his approach, these pages offer plenty of fodder for contemplation, especially regarding the politics of cheese, ideas that will hopefully spark discussion.” Trish Bowering reviews Milk Into Cheese: The Foundations of Natural Cheesemaking Using Traditional Concepts, Tools, and Techniques, by David Asher (New York: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2024) $75 / 9781603588874
“Back Where I Came From, Jaffer and Mouallem’s collection of essays by first- and second-generation Canadian and American writers, offers a view of many of those old countries, providing a smorgasbord of perceptions and images about culture and identity and about what home means to people in places around the planet.” Carol Matthews reviews Back Where I Came From: On Culture, Identity and Home by Taslim Jaffer and Omar Mouallem (eds.) (Toronto: Book*Hug Press, 2024) $29.95 / 9781771669177
“Iron Mike provides an insider’s view of the coaching life aimed at vindicating its author’s brutal winning philosophy and intimidating style. Keenan’s out to settle a few scores, but he also wants us to know that, deep down, he’s a much nicer guy than the tyrant who crashed and burned his way through head coaching gigs in eight different cities before wearing out his NHL welcome.” Daniel Gawthrop reviews Iron Mike: My Life Behind the Bench, by Mike Keenan, with Scott Morrison (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2024) $36.00 / 9780735281851
