“These stories of resistance need to be shared to help understand the breadth of depravity of fascism and its impact that can evolve under unchecked hate and power. Rather than “fascism” being an abstract word or slogan, it becomes visceral when told as a story using sequential art.” David Lester writes an essay telling of how, “as the creeping noose of modern-day fascism encircles us, I found myself drawing a story from 80 years ago.” Partisans: A Graphic History of Anti-Fascist Resistance, by Raymond Tyler & Paul Buhle (eds.) (Toronto: Between the Lines, 2025) $34.95 / 9781771136525
“In this intimate account, Comox Valley writer Joline Martin uniquely focuses on the draft resisters who came to Vancouver Island and became Canadians.” Ron Verzuh reviews War Resisters: Standing Against the Vietnam War, by Joline Martin (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2025) $26 / 9781773861685
“Roy documents Hart’s careful negotiations with Ottawa at federal-provincial conferences often to the province’s advantage. For example, during the Depression when unemployment was a major concern, Hart made arrangements with the federal government to take steps to address the problem.” John Hart: A Businessman in British Columbia Politics, by Patricia E. Roy (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2025) $34.95 / 9780774872515
“In sum, in my respectful view, too much of this book is little more than a handy compendium of familiar sources strung together to prove a point. It is reminiscent of the approach taken in Grave Error, whereby those authors seek to advance a counter-narrative.” Richard Butler reviews Reconciling History: A Story of Canada, by Jody Wilson-Raybould and Roshan Danesh (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2024) $39.95 / 9780771017230
“Hill presents a compelling case for Antifa relevance in its fight against racism, fascism, and authoritarianism, providing a detailed history of events in our past, so we can better understand our probable future.” Jeffrey Stychin reviews The Antifa Comic Book: Revised and Expanded, by Gord Hill (Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2025) $24.95 / 9781834050041
“Don’t Be Canada contests such a generous comparison between Canada and the rest of the democratic world. Its very basis is that Canada is unique in doing a number of things wrong, voluntarily engaging in self-destructive activities in an attempt to appeal to a progressive American mindset.” Eugene Lacey reviews Don’t Be Canada: How One Country Did Everything Wrong All At Once, by Tristin Hopper (Toronto: Sutherland House, 2025) $23.95 / 9781998365364
“One of the book’s most important implications is that women’s rights are hard won, by women themselves, rather than awarded by a benevolent government or other entity. The stories in the book also show how although an individual woman might have failed in her quest for a legal remedy, she laid a path for others to build on.” Janet Pollock Millar reviews Women Who Woke Up the Law: Inside the Cases that Changed Women’s Rights in Canada
by Karin Wells (Toronto: Second Story Press, 2025) $24.95 / 978177264191
“One of the most compelling aspects of the collection is its counterculture energy. There is a clear rejection of the idea that Canada’s value lies in its utility to the United States, a challenge to a worldview that reduces national identity to geopolitical convenience. The essays ripple with a sense of defiance that is both invigorating and necessary, particularly in an era when political rhetoric often blurs the line between hyperbole and threat.” Jeffrey Stychin reviews Canada Is Not the 51st F**king State! Canadians Face Off Against Donald Trump’s Worst Idea Ever (New Westminster: Cosmic Cranium Press, 2025) $27.99 / 9781069072610
“The individuals profiled in this book use all kinds of narrative formats, telling stories through poetry and prose, pictographs, maps, ribbon skirts, and beadwork. There is a serious challenge of scope with such a short volume, but it is successful in its brevity at providing a glimpse of the multitude of Indigenous storytellers.” Kristina Hannis reviews Ours to Tell: Reclaiming Indigenous Stories, by Eldon Yellowhorn & Kathy Lowinger (Toronto: Annick Press, 2025) $24.99 / 9781773219530
“The book is engaging, frank and occasionally a little salty. It’s a nicely turned-out book in hardcover with a dust jacket with a colour image of John Horgan in the prime of life. Undoubtedly, it’s not a coincidence the hardcover itself is NDP orange.” Steven Brown reviews John Horgan In His Own Words: A Memoir, by John Horgan with Rod Mickleburgh (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2025) $38.95 / 9781998526260
“Canadians rightly balked at American President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Canada become the 51st state. Fortunately, Victoria historian Graeme Menzies has sidelined that suggestion with his latest history of Captains James Cook, George Vancouver, and others who sailed to our shores in the late 18th century. Thanks to them, he explains, we remain thoroughly Canadian.” Ron Verzuh reviews Trading Fate: How a Little-Known Company Stopped British Columbia from Becoming an American State, by Graeme Menzies (Victoria: Heritage House, 2025) $29.95 / 9781772035483
“Its politicized association with the federal Liberals caused the policy’s death in British Columbia, the jurisdiction which had initially been a global pioneer in action against climate change. What had initially been a philosophically conservative motion spurred on by the visible dangers of climate change was cynically adopted to offset the distrustful image of an unpopular prime minister.” Matthew Downey reviews The Carbon Tax Question: Clarifying Canada’s Most Consequential Policy Debate, by Thomas F. Pedersen (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2024) $26.95 / 9781990776977
“Over and over, Joseph reminds us that reconciliation is not a vague or amorphous concept that can only be resolved through the judicial system. It is a process which can be realized by taking tangible, definite steps towards recognizing and respecting Indigenous peoples’ right to make decisions about their own communities.” Kate Gunn reviews 21 Things You Need to Know About Indigenous Self-Government, by Bob Joseph (Vancouver: Page Two Books, 2025) $24.95 / 9781774586273
“In Humans, Finkel leads us through a breathtaking sweep of 300,000 years of human history. He starts with early hunter and gatherer societies that, being egalitarian, co-operative, and peaceful, reflected intrinsic human nature. Those societies, he continues, have much to teach us.” Robin Fisher reviews Humans: The 300,000-Year Struggle for Equality, by Alvin Finkel (Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 2025) $25.95 / 9781459419544
“The challenge in creating the exhibition Eating Bitterness: The Canadian Journey from Exclusion to Inclusion was to develop a temporary travelling exhibition which tells the story of the Chinese Exclusion Act in an original, more hopeful way. At the same time, we wanted to raise awareness of the barriers that are faced by the Chinese Canadian community and other communities that need to be overcome.” Christine Cheung reflects on the Eating Bitterness: The Canadian Journey from Exclusion to Inclusion exhibition, currently at the Victoria Chinatown Museum until October 26.
“As an educator and researcher, I see Indigenomics as a necessary text for anyone working in reconciliation, governance, business, or education. Hilton challenges us to move beyond tokenism and toward meaningful economic inclusion. ‘Indigenomics is an invitation to align economic practice with understanding how the universe and humanity interact.'” Doctoral candidate Amy Tucker reviews Indigenomics: Taking a Seat at the Economic Table, by Carol Anne Hilton (Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers, 2021) $21.99 / 9780865719408
“Author George Abbott meticulously researched this disturbing political past to shed light on that legacy as governments and First Nations continue the quest for truth and reconciliation partly through land claims negotiations.” Ron Verzuh reviews Unceded: Understanding British Columbia’s Colonial Past and Why It Matters Now, by George M. Abbott (Vancouver: UBC Press [Purich Books], 2025) $29.95 / 9780774881159
“In his debut memoir, A Precarious Enterprise: Making a Life in Canadian Publishing, Scott McIntyre invites readers into the various corners of Canadian publishing. He revisits his early days at McClelland & Stewart … before outlining the tumultuous beginnings, storied ups and downs of growth, and eventually the ending of his own publishing house—Douglas & McIntyre.” Natalie Virginia Lang reviews A Precarious Enterprise: Making a Life in Canadian Publishing (Toronto: ECW Press, 2025) $39.95 / 9781770418196
“The strength of Martin’s book, and its value as an analysis of the Canadian experience in Afghanistan, is in the way that he personifies the political experience of the Afghan war through his anecdotes. There is a point where he elucidates the three circles of power in Afghanistan – the first being the local power brokers and warlords, the second being the government of the democratic regime, and the third being the international forces.” Matthew Downey reviews Unwinnable Peace: Untold Stories of Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan, by Tim Martin (New Westminster: Tidewater Press, 2024) $24.95 / 9781990160349
“Catherine Clement’s new book, The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act, and the commemorative exhibition that preceded it, takes an unflinching look at the inter-generational impact of the ‘…fanatical documentation [which] reached its apex with the passing of the federal 1923 Chinese Immigration Act.'” May Q. Wong reviews The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act, by Catherine Clement (Oakville: Plumleaf Press, 2025) $59.95 / 9781069093516
