No Compromise: A Memoir by John Jensen, edited by Rod Link, foreword by George Heyman Vancouver: Walhachin Press, 2021. This book is for sale at Munro’s Books (Victoria), People’s Co-op Bookstore (Vancouver), and Misty River Books (Terrace) — Ed. $20.00 / 9781777582302 Reviewed by Ron Verzuh * Northern Socialist. Tracing the life of a B.C….
Read more 1227 John Jensen, northern socialist
Brotherhood to Nationhood: George Manuel and the Making of the Modern Indian Movement by Peter McFarlane with Doreen Manuel, with a foreword by Pamela Palmater Toronto: Between the Lines Books, 2020 (second edition; first published 1993) $32.95 / 9781771135108 Reviewed by Sarah Nickel * Indigenous women “were every part of organizing [because] the women are…
Read more 1212 Reconsidering George Manuel
Lost Souls of Lakewood: The History and Mystery of Blaylock’s Mansion by Charlie Hodge with Dan McGauley Victoria: FriesenPress, 2021 $18.99 / 9781039100428 Reviewed by Ron Verzuh * The Ghosts of Blaylock’s Mansion: A Romp Through the History of a BC architectural marvel is fun but lacks historical verification Mom used to drive us out…
Read more 1210 The ghosts of Blaylock’s mansion
Postsecondary Education in British Columbia: Public Policy and Structural Development, 1960-2015 by Robert Cowin Vancouver: UBC Press, 2019 $34.95 / 9780774838344 Reviewed by Ken Coates * Post-secondary education is a controversial topic in British Columbia. From failed attempts to revive Notre Dame University in Nelson to the decision to open the University of Northern British…
Read more 1208 A multitude of universities
Graeme Wynn reviews four books: The Imperilled Ocean: Human Stories From a Changing Sea by Laura Trethewey Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 2020 $22.95 / 9781773101156 * Passion and Persistence: Fifty Years of the Sierra Club in British Columbia by Diane Pinch Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2019 $12.99 / 9781550178814 * Hope Matters: Why Changing the…
Read more 1202 Hothouse Earth: The future is now
Able to Lead: Disablement, Radicalism, and the Political Life of E.T. Kingsley by Ravi Malhotra and Benjamin Isitt Vancouver: UBC Press, 2021 $34.95 / 9780774865777 Reviewed by Ron Verzuh * “Impossibilist” Crusader: E.T. Kingsley led the Socialist Party of Canada and edited the Western Clarion Eugene Thornton “E.T.” Kingsley (1856-1929) was a sharp-tongued orator in…
Read more 1195 A serious thinker of the labour left
The Object’s the Thing: The Writings of Yorke Edwards, A Pioneer of Heritage Interpretation in Canada by Richard Kool and Robert A. Cannings (editors) Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum Press, 2021 $24.95 / 9780772678515 * Craigdarroch Castle in 21 Treasures by Moira Dann, with an afterword by Bruce Davies Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2021 $20.00 /…
Read more 1179 History galleries & robber barons
The Ku Klux Klan in Canada by Allan Bartley Halifax, NS: Formac Publishing, 2020 $24.95 / 9781459506138 Reviewed by Ron Verzuh * In the mid-1920s Canada was a hotbed for KKK recruiters . . . and they’re still here. For almost a century, the racist and often violent Ku Klux Klan has found a home…
Read more 1167 Hate mongering in Canada
Sisters of the Ice: The True Story of How St. Roch and North Star of Herschel Island Protected Canadian Arctic Sovereignty by R. Bruce Macdonald Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2021 $19.95 / 9781550179286 Reviewed by Hector Williams * Nearly six decades ago I worked in Canada’s North with various government agencies like the CBC Northern…
Read more 1160 Canadian arctic guardians
Inequality in Canada: The History and Politics of an Idea by Eric W. Sager Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2021 $37.95 / 9780228005803 Reviewed by Ron Verzuh * Political economists from the 1770s to the 21st century analyze Canadian inequality and ponder how to address it. Most of us know Stephen Leacock as Canada’s foremost humorist…
Read more 1159 Fighting Canadian inequality
The Reporter and the Winnipeg General Strike by Michael Dupuis (text) and Michael Kluckner (illustrations) Vancouver: Granville Island Publishing, 2020 $24.95 / 9781989467282 Reviewed by Ron Verzuh * Winnipeg 1919: A unique retelling of the historical general strike may reach new and younger audiences We’ve heard many versions of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike story….
Read more 1134 Winnipeg’s historic moment
ESSAY: “The Noise of Time”[1] and the Removal of History? by Robin Fisher * In 1957 a group of anthropologists went ashore at SG̱ang Gwaay, which they knew as Ninstints, the site of a long deserted Haida village on Anthony Island. With ropes, pulleys and crosscut saws they lowered a few of the surviving totem…
Read more 1124 “The Noise of Time” and the Removal of History?
Victoria Unbuttoned: A Red-Light History of BC’s Capital City by Linda J. Eversole Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2021 $20.00 / 9781771513388 Reviewed by Patrick A. Dunae * For over a century, Victoria, British Columbia has promoted itself as a city of gardens, as a haven for genteel tourists and wealthy retirees. But as Linda Eversole reminds…
Read more 1105 Lives of Victoria sex workers
ORMSBY REVIEW PRESS: Frederick Paget Norbury, Chapter Two: Push and Pull: Tommy Norbury and Emigration by Brenda Callaghan * Editor’s note: we are pleased to present Chapter 2 of Brenda Callaghan’s hitherto unpublished biography, Frederick Paget Norbury, Remittance Man or Gentleman Immigrant? The Story of an Englishman in Canada. Earlier in 2021 we published the…
Read more 1104 The call of the East Kootenay
Outside In: A Political Memoir by Libby Davies Toronto: Between The Lines, 2019 $26.95 / 9781771134453 Reviewed by Alex Netherton * Libby Davies’ Outside In is an extraordinary political memoir that chronicles and reflects upon her life and political career first as an urban activist and then eventually as the Deputy Leader of the NDP…
Read more 1096 A master of urban politics
As if They Were the Enemy: The Dispossession of Japanese Canadians on Saltspring Island by Brian Smallshaw Victoria: University of Victoria, 2020 $24.95 / 9781550586671 (available at UVic bookstore for $24.95 plus shipping costs, or direct from b@pixelmap.ca for $26.00 including postage) Reviewed by Marie Elliott * Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December…
Read more 1095 Iniquity on the Gulf Islands
ESSAY: The Militant Mothers: Civil Disobedience in Raymur Housing Project by Meg Stainsby * The 1971 actions of the “Militant Mothers of Raymur” was one of the first direct action campaigns in Vancouver history. The successful, swift campaign ran from early January through late March. It has been documented and celebrated in newspaper and radio…
Read more 1093 The militant mothers of Raymur
Battleground Grandview: An Activist’s Memoir of the Grandview Community Plan, 2011-2016 by Jak King Vancouver, The Drive Press, 2020 $25.00 / 9780986778209 Reviewed by Jennifer Chutter * Planning for housing in Vancouver is a contentious issue due to conflicting ideas of where increased density should take place, what styles of housing are needed, and who…
Read more 1091 In praise of city neighbourhoods
The Rat People: A Journey through Beijing’s Forbidden Underground by Patrick Saint-Paul, translated by David Homel Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2020 $19.95 / 9781551528038 Reviewed by May Q Wong * In The Rat People: A Journey through Beijing’s Forbidden Underground, veteran foreign correspondent Patrick Saint-Paul exposes how Beijing’s, and indeed China’s, explosive growth has been…
Read more 1077 Life beneath the streets
Beverley McLachlin: The Legacy of a Supreme Court Chief Justice by Ian Greene and Peter McCormick Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 2019 $29.95 / 9781459414402 * Truth Be Told: The Story of My Life and My Fight for Equality by Beverley McLachlin Toronto: Simon & Schuster, 2020 $24.95 / 9781982104979 Both books reviewed by May…
Read more 1059 Tribute to Beverley McLachlin