John Scouler (c. 1804-1871) Scottish Naturalist: A Life, with Two Voyages by E. Charles Nelson Glasgow: Glasgow Natural History Society, 2014 £11.00 (U.K.) / 9780956529510 Reviewed by Robert M. Galois * Naturalists’ Networks and the Northwest Coast in the Early Nineteenth Century On 25 July, 1824, John Scouler, a young Scottish naturalist, boarded the Hudson’s…
Read more #714 A naturalist on the North Pacific
10 Sure-fire Ways to NAIL Your First Draft by Carol Anne Shaw * After several years of reading, scribbling, blogging, Facebooking, and trying to look serious on LinkedIn, I’ve come to realize that this writing-a-novel thing is actually a no-brainer. Because there are only ten necessary rules for success. I’m not lying. (I’ll get to…
Read more #713 Writing tips from Cowichan
A Matins Flywheel by John Lent Saskatoon: Thistledown Press, 2019 $20 / 9781771871914 Reviewed by Trevor Carolan * John Lent, the veteran BC poet, writes from Vernon where he has taught at Okanagan College and performed as a jazz artist for years. Within the literary community, he has long been appreciated for his contributions to…
Read more #712 Okanagan verse and jazz
In memoriam E.D. Blodgett by James Felton (editor) * Born in Philadelphia in 1935, E.D. Blodgett (Ted) (Edward Dickinson) Blodgett came to Canada in 1966 to teach at the University of Alberta. He wrote 22 books of poetry, one of which, Apostrophes: Woman at a Piano (Ottawa: Buschek Books, 1996), won the Governor General’s Award for…
Read more #711 In memoriam E.D. Blodgett
The Princess Dolls by Ellen Schwartz, with illustrations by Mariko Ando Vancouver: Tradewind Books, 2018 $12.95 / 9781926890081 Reviewed by Michael Kluckner * Best friends Esther and Michiko and their longing for two dolls of the English princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, provide subjects for a wartime tale of friendship, racial injustice, and displacement set in…
Read more #710 Four Strathcona princesses
The Secret Wisdom of Nature: Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of All Living Things — Stories from Science and Observation by Peter Wohlleben, translated by Jill Billinghurst Vancouver: Greystone Books/ David Suzuki Institute, 2019 $29.95 / 978177164388 Reviewed by Loys Maingon * Most people are on the world, not in it — have no…
Read more #709 The hidden network of nature
Possess the Air: Love, Heroism, and the Battle for the Soul of Mussolini’s Rome by Taras Grescoe Windsor, Ontario: Biblioasis, 2019 $22.95 / 9781771963237 Reviewed by Angela Clarke * Taras Grescoe’s Possess the Air: Love, Heroism, and the Battle for the Soul of Mussolini’s Rome is a timely non-fiction study of populism and historical responsibility….
Read more #708 Make Rome great again
Lost Feast: Culinary Extinction and the Future of Food by Lenore Newman Toronto: ECW Press, 2019 $32.95/ 9781770414358 Reviewed by Mary Leah de Zwart, Linda Peterat, and Gale Smith of the BC Food History Network * Lenore Newman is a culinary geographer, professor, and holder of a Canada Research Chair in Food Security and the…
Read more #707 Food extinction alert
Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult that Bound My Life by Sarah Edmondson with Kristine Gasbarre San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2019; Vancouver: Raincoast Books, 2019 $24.99 (Canada); $27.95 (U.S.) / 9781797202396 Reviewed by Nathaniel G. Moore * When I was in my undergrad, I took a course on new religious…
Read more #706 Hitting life’s reset button
Arrow’s Fall by Joel Scott Toronto: ECW Press, 2019 $18.99 / 9781770414273 Reviewed by John Hutchings * This is the second book by Chemainus-based sailor and author Joel Scott, featuring the further adventures of his principal two characters and their old wooden boat, the Arrow. Having not read the first book, I can attest that…
Read more #705 Batten down the hatches
One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet by Richard Wagamese Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2019 $18.95 / 9781771622295 Reviewed by Brian Fraser * My journey of communal and personal healing is very different from that of Richard Wagamese. We find our wisdom from different spiritual traditions, with different mentors, in different languages. But…
Read more #704 The humility to heal
A Field Guide to Marine Life of the Protected Waters of the Salish Sea by Rick M. Harbo Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2019 $7.95 / 9781550178531 * A Field Guide to Marine Life of the Outer Coasts of the Salish Sea and Beyond by Rick M. Harbo Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2019 $7.95 / 9781550178555…
Read more #703 Inner and outer coast marine life
DIY Mushroom Cultivation: Growing Mushrooms at Home for Food, Medicine, and Soil by Willoughby Arevalo Gabriola Island: New Society, 2019 $29.95 / 9780865718951 Reviewed by Gillian Crowther * Fungi in our intimate living spaces need not be a cause for dehumidifiers, urgent house repairs, or structural remediation. It can be cause for celebration — especially…
Read more #702 Hungry for home mushrooms
When Days are Long: Nurse in the North by Amy Wilson, with an introduction by Laurel Deedrick-Mayne Halfmoon Bay: Caitlin Press, 2019. First published in Sidney by Gray’s Publishing, 1965 $24.95 / 9781773860084 Reviewed by Heather Longworth Sjoblom * “Such a challenge! And I couldn’t resist it,” wrote Amy Wilson about her acceptance as field…
Read more #701 Nine years of northern nursing
UBC: The Next Century by Tyee Bridge, with a foreword by Santa J. Ono Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing, 2019 $40.00 / 9781773270883 Reviewed by Herbert Rosengarten * From the beginning the University of British Columbia (UBC) has nurtured ambitions of greatness. Its potential was recognized by BC’s premier, Sir Richard McBride, who sent his congratulations…
Read more #700 The university at Point Grey
Once Well Beloved: Remembering a British Columbia Great War Sacrifice by Michael Sasges Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum Press, 2019 $17.95 / 9780772672551 Reviewed by Sylvia Crooks * The national trauma of the First World War, even though it was fought over one hundred years ago, is still deeply felt today. Michael Sasges’ Once Well…
Read more #699 Reply to a cenotaph
Everything British Columbia. The Ultimate Book of Lists by Bethany Lindsay and Andrew Weichel Lunenburg, Nova Scotia: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing, 2019 $19.95 / 9781772761351 Reviewed by Patrick A. Dunae * How do you describe a book like this? In the Library and Archives Canada Cataloging in Publication entry, the subject heading for this book is…
Read more #698 Abbreviated British Columbia
Voices from the Skeena: An Illustrated Oral History by Robert Budd, illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2019 $29.95 / 9781550178838 Reviewed by Tyler McCreary * On March 12, 2020, Voices from the Skeena: An Illustrated Oral History, by Robert Budd and Roy Henry Vickers, was one of five books shortlisted for…
Read more #697 Skeena echoes and silkscreens
A Year on the Wild Side: A West Coast Naturalist’s Almanac by Briony Penn Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2019 (second edition; first published by TouchWood, 1997) $26.00 / 9781771512671 Reviewed by Luanne Armstrong * I love to walk and often when I do, I stop often and look under my feet, through the forest, into the…
Read more #696 Handbook of west coast nature
Magic Moments in BC Sports: A Century in Photos by Kate Bird Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2019 $24.95 / 9781771644518 Reviewed by Timothy Lewis * There is something uniquely compelling about a photograph of a sporting moment…. [It] can … encapsulate the mood and magic, in a way that a televised event cannot, capturing a single…
Read more #695 Front row BC sports snaps