Gilly the Ghillie: More Chronicles of a West Coast Fishing Guide by David Giblin Victoria: Heritage House, 2020 $19.95 / 9781772033359 Reviewed by Matthew Downey * The treacherous rapids and whirlpools of the many labyrinthine waterways that wind through the islands off Vancouver Island’s northeast coastal stretch may often seem out of time in their…
Read more 1692 Fisherman’s return
A Bicycle Story by Dave Steen Thetis Island: Thetis Island Publishing, 2022 $12.99 / 9798409188085 A Bicycle Story is available on Amazon.ca Reviewed by Howard Macdonald Stewart * Dave Steen’s mystery novel about old crimes and old age might well have been entitled A Tale of Many Bicycles or A Tale of Many Cyclists. All…
Read more 1677 The rough side of cycling
Chasing Rivers: A Whitewater Life by Tamar Glouberman Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2022 $26.95 / 9781771623414 Reviewed by Ryan Mitchell * Montreal film student turned rafting guide adventurer, Tamar Glouberman’s journey weaves like a winding river. Floating from eastern to western Canada and then beyond, she recounts her beginnings in the rafting world after…
Read more 1648 In safe hands with Tamar
Wildlife For Idiots: And Other Animal Cartoons by Adrian Raeside Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2022 $16.95 / 9781550179323 Reviewed by Sage Birchwater * So how do you review a book of cartoons by sardonic, irreverent, witty Adrian Raeside — standup comedian of the literary world. Born in New Zealand in 1957, Raeside came to Canada…
Read more 1642 Raeside outdoors
The Save of My Life: My Journey Out of the Dark by Corey Hirsch, with Sean Patrick Conboy Toronto: HarperCollins Canada, 2022 $32.99 / 9781443461092 Reviewed by Daniel Gawthrop * It must be hard to write a good topical hockey book these days. The goalposts, as it were, keep shifting on the zeitgeist as Canada’s…
Read more 1618 Goaltender, heal thyself
Vancouver, Howe Sound & the Sunshine Coast, Including Princess Louisa Inlet & Jedediah Island. New, Revised Fourth Edition. A Dreamspeaker Cruising Guide No. 3 by Anne Yeadon-Jones and Laurence Yeadon-Jones Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2022 $49.95 / 9781550179859 Reviewed by Kenneth Campbell * To explore British Columbia’s intricate coastal waterways safely and enjoyably by boat…
Read more 1576 South coast cruising
Reading the Water: Fly Fishing, Fatherhood, and Finding Strength in Nature by Mark Hume Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2022 $34.95 / 9781771645690 Reviewed by Ron Verzuh * Fishing for “home water.” About a dedicated fisher-father and his metaphor for life Ever hear of a Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear? How about a Mickey Finn? A Pumpkin Head…
Read more 1564 Fishing for home water
Snow Nomad: An Avalanche Memoir by Alan Dennis Victoria: FriesenPress, 2022 $25.99 / 9781039107984 Reviewed by Ron Dart * I have had an ongoing interest, the last few decades, in the life and philosophic vision of Dolores LaChapelle. LaChapelle’s early pioneering work with Arne Naess in deep ecology and her deep powder skiing insights were…
Read more 1556 Tales of the avalanche clan
The Shuswap Country by Erskine Burnett, edited by Jim Cooperman and with a foreword by Mark Forsythe Salmon Arm: 55 Creative Group and Hucul Printing, 2022 $25.00 / 9780994990259 Reviewed by Sage Birchwater * The Shuswap Country is a history-buff’s delight waiting to pique your curiosity about life in the Shuswap during the 1930s and…
Read more 1552 Bard of the Shuswap
One Inch from Disaster: True Tales from the Wilds of British Columbia by Kelly Randall Ricketts Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2022 $22.95 / 9781550179262 Reviewed by Dave Flawse * Flip over a copy of One Inch from Disaster and you’ll see a picture of a shirtless Kelly Randall (Zeus) Ricketts glancing back at the camera,…
Read more 1501 Tales of a rural ethos
Edward Feuz Jr.: A Story of Enchantment by D.L. Stephen Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2021 $28.00 / 9781771605090 Reviewed by Ron Dart * Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. — John Muir (quoted in Edward Feuz Jr., p. 277) The Canadian mountaineering tradition has its layered origins in the role of the CPR…
Read more 1484 Edward Feuz, alpine legend
Head to Head by Jennifer Manuel Toronto: James Lorimer, 2020 $12.95 / 9781459414280 Reviewed by Valerie Green * In this young adult book for 10 to 13 year-olds, Jennifer Manuel has written a story which will inspire all young girls who love sports. But the book also carries a strong message of how team work…
Read more 1483 A west coast soccer story
ESSAY: Swiss Edelweiss Village: to be or not to be? by Ron Dart * Swiss guides were front and centre in the origins and development of mountaineering and mountain culture in Western Canada. The fact that much of their work was divided between Lake Louise and Rogers Pass meant that Golden, BC, became their place…
Read more 1481 Save Swiss Edelweiss Village
Overcoming the Neutral Zone Trap: Hockey’s Agents of Change by Cheryl A. MacDonald and Jonathon R.J. Edwards (editors) Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2021 $34.99 / 9781772125795 Reviewed by Daniel Gawthrop * To anyone who watches the game with a critical eye, it should not come as news that the mainstream hockey establishment suffers from…
Read more 1441 Oh, the good new hockey game
A Journey Back to Nature: A History of Strathcona Provincial Park by Catherine Marie Gilbert Victoria: Heritage House, 2021 $26.95 / 9781772033588 Reviewed by Matthew Downey * The past year in British Columbia has seen activism and protests centred on the forest industry and controversies over the logging of old growth rainforest. In such a…
Read more 1350 Making & taking Strathcona Park
Harking by George Mercer North Saanich: George Mercer, 2021; printed by Friesens, Altona, Manitoba $19.99 / 9780987975485 Reviewed by Valerie Green * George Mercer’s book Harking is described as a book for young adults. I am sure, however, it will appeal to people of all ages who enjoy and respect the wilderness. Set in Jasper…
Read more 1332 Harking: growing up in Jasper
Caught on the Trail: Nature’s Wildlife Selfies by Dale Bakken and Sandra Lynch-Bakken Surrey: Hancock House, 2020 $24.95 / 9780888390585 Reviewed by Jocie Brooks * A curious black bear nuzzles the camera on the cover of Caught on the Trail: Nature’s Wildlife Selfies. This book offers “up close and personal” views of BC’s wildlife that…
Read more 1323 Eavesdropping in the bush
Geography of British Columbia: People and Landscapes in Transition (fourth edition) by Brett McGillivray Vancouver: UBC Press, 2020 $55.00 / 9780774864329 Reviewed by Ken Favrholdt * Brett McGillivray’s Geography of British Columbia: People and Landscapes in Transition has withstood the test of time since its first edition in 2000, which I reviewed for BC Studies…
Read more 1305 McGillivray’s essential geography
Destination Hikes In and Around Southwestern British Columbia: swimming holes, mountain peaks, waterfalls and more by Stephen Hui, with a foreword by Cecilia Point Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2021 $24.95 / 9781771645300 Reviewed by Ron Dart * I have before me a few first edition books (collectors’ items I assume) that were pioneering guide books in…
Read more 1264 Affirming the trekking tradition
Mountain Man: The Life of a Guide Outfitter by Hiram Cody Tegart with Andrew Bruce Richards Halfmoon Bay: Caitlin Press, 2019 $24.95 / 9781773860060 Reviewed by Sage Birchwater * Mountain Man: The Life of a Guide Outfitter by Hiram Cody Tegart with Andrew Bruce Richards takes us to another place and time. The East Kootenays…
Read more 1120 East Kootenay guide outfitter