Sports & outdoors

No. 2000 for the BC Review!

When we launched The British Columbia Review — then The Ormsby Review — in September 2016, little did we expect that seven years later we’d post our 2000th review. I’m grateful to everyone — reviewers, publishers, authors, booksellers, and readers — for making it such a success and promoting BC writers, writing, and culture. It…
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BC Review Annual Fundraiser

BC Review Annual Fundraiser A note from Richard Mackie *  Dear friends, supporters, and readers of The British Columbia Review: On behalf of the Board of Directors and Advisory Board of The British Columbia Review, I must remind readers of our continuing need for financial support. This request for private donations is done annually to keep…
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‘Trek by father and son’

The Boy and the Mountain: A Father, His Son, and a Journey of Discovery  By Torbjørn Ekelund (Translated by Becky L. Crook) Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2023 $27.95  /  9781771645096 Reviewed by Ron Dart * The Boy and the Mountain was originally published in Norwegian in 2017 and translated into English in 2023. Ekelund has, thus…
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1974 Marathon man like no other

Outsider: An Old Man, a Mountain and the Search for a Hidden Past by Brett Popplewell  Toronto: Harper Collins, 2023 $25.99 / 9781443457859 Reviewed by Daniel Gawthrop * British Columbia has long been a magnet for eccentric new settlers with mysterious backgrounds who come here seeking to reinvent themselves. Thanks to an investigative journalist from Ontario,…
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1953 ‘Observations and discoveries’

Four Seasons by the Salish Sea: Discovering the Natural Wonders of Coastal Living by Carolyn Redl, photography by Nancy Randall Victoria: Heritage House Publishing, 2023 $32.95   /  9781772034479 Reviewed by Valerie Green * Author Carolyn Redl has been fascinated with life along the Salish Sea ever since she moved to Vancouver Island from the prairies…
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1947 Canadian mountain culture and mountaineering

ESSAY: Canadian Mountain Culture and Mountaineering by Ron Dart   * And sliding on the mountain snow, Dear Friend, we’ll let our worries go.                                                                                                            -Alexander Pushkin, “Winter Morning”   Great things are done when men and mountains meet; this is not done by jostling in the street.                                                                                                            -William Blake, Gnomic Verses   The…
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1922 Irresistible Stikine

Stikine Odyssey: From Adventure to Activism with The Great River by Peter Rowlands Victoria: Friesen Press, 2023 $24.49  /  9781775238348 Reviewed by Trevor Marc Hughes * What is it that draws adventurers to the Stikine River? For me, in 2012, it was a desire to see this beautiful, and integral, landscape in northern British Columbia…
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1901 A hydro hagiography

A Man and his River: A 25-year Love Affair with a Wild Island Waterway by D.C. Reid Surrey: Hancock House, 2022 $24.95  /  9780888397287 Reviewed by Matthew Downey * The Nitinat River, cutting through the thick jungle which separates the west coast of Vancouver Island from the majority of its inhabitants, is hardly the region’s…
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1870 Mack Laing in Alaska

Capturing the Summit: Hamilton Mack Laing and the Mount Logan Expedition of 1925 by Trevor Marc Hughes Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2023 $24.95  /  9781553806806 Reviewed by Sage Birchwater * When naturalist/cinematographer Hamilton Mack Laing was commissioned by the National Museum of Canada to accompany the expedition making the first ascent of Mount Logan in 1925,…
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1837 A dose of planetary reality

The Power of Dreams: 27 Years Off-grid in a Wilderness Valley by Dave and Rosemary Neads Surrey: Hancock House Publishers, 2022 $24.95 /  9780888397188 Review by Phyllis Reeve * A couple built a house in the wilderness of Precipice Valley, on the ancient trade route linking BC’s Interior Plateau with the coast, and stayed for…
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1813 Welcome Trevor and Brett

Welcome Trevor and Brett by Richard Mackie * On behalf of the Board of the Ormsby Literary Society and our Advisory Board I’d like to welcome Trevor Marc Hughes and Brett Josef Grubisic as interim editors of The British Columbia Review for the year May 1, 2023 to May 1, 2024. The position was made possible…
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1775 The hockey talisman

Elliot Jelly-Legs and the Bobblehead Miracle by Yolanda Ridge (text) and Sydney Barnes (illustrations) Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2023 $12.95 / 9781459833791 Reviewed by Cassidy Lea * In Canada, hockey is kind of our thing. A lot of us have played it, a bunch of us watch it, and if most of us were asked…
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1757 Announcing interview series

Announcing the BC Review interview series by Richard Mackie * In November 2022, at the most recent board meeting of the Ormsby Literary Society, the chair, Byron Sheardown, suggested that we open a YouTube channel and start an interview series. Board member Trevor Marc Hughes jumped at the suggestion. “I’ve got filmmaking experience,” he said,…
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1748 Life stripped down to the core

Backpacking in Southwestern British Columbia: The Essential Guide to Overnight Hiking Trips by Taryn Eyton Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2021 $24.95  /  9781771646680 Reviewed by Jocie Brooks * I sometimes ask myself why I backpack. There are the usual hardships to endure: a too-heavy pack, swarms of bugs and unexpected bad weather. Months after the trips…
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1733 Maintenance and sustenance

Alone in the Great Unknown: One Woman’s Remarkable Adventures in the Northwestern Wilderness by Caroll Simpson Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2022 $26.95 / 9781550179941 Reviewed by Catherine Owen * As I load birch logs a local woodsman has chopped into my wood pit bin, groaning slightly at the work in only minus three conditions, I…
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1699 Many a life line

Rescue Me: Behind the Scenes of Search and Rescue by Cathalynn Labonté-Smith Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2022 $26.00 / 9781773860947 Reviewed by Mike Starr * “Behind the Scenes of Search and Rescue” is what the subtitle promises and is exactly what you’ll get with Rescue Me. Author Cathalynn Labonté-Smith did over 60 interviews with Search…
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1695 South to British Columbia

Following the Telegraph Trail: A Trek of a Lifetime by Irene J. Huntley Victoria: FriesenPress, 2021 $14.99 / 9781039110441 Reviewed by Valerie Green * Irene J. Huntley has written a worthy little book — Following the Telegraph Trail — which documents the adventurous trek taken by her father, Don Huntley, and his friend, Gunnar Nillson,…
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