Tag: sports
“The introduction closes with three words that have stayed with me since I turned the final page: “Let’s get kicking.” With the World Cup having arrived in Vancouver and Toronto, with Canada playing on home soil for the first time in its history, that line reads less like a closing sentiment and more like an opening whistle for something we have spent our whole sporting lives waiting to hear.” Amy Tucker reviews Winning Pitch: The Canadian Men’s Soccer Team at the World Cup and Beyond, by Murray Mollard (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2026) $26.95 / 9781998526598
Accompanied by vibrant illustrations, an early chapter book tells of new girl Feebee as she joins a figure skating club. It’s a sweet, well-told tale. —Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Feebee’s Magical Figure Skaters’ Tea, by Cathalynn Cindy Labonté-Smith (illustrated by Serena J. Trinder) (Gibsons: independently published, 2026) $15.00 / 9798257852671
The sleuthing elements of this YA novel have their appeal, but the real stand outs include the interplay between teammates and the “multi-generational openness and connections.” —Alison Acheson reviews Rhapsody Smith, Ice Angel, by Lorna Schultz Nicholson (Winnipeg: Yellow Dog/Great Plains Press, 2025) $18.95 / 9781773371306
An entertaining, raucous, and deeply weird novel splices together a boxing comeback story, veganism, bout fixing, and… Sherlock Holmes. —Logan Macnair reviews Pet, Pet, Slap, by Andrew Battershill (Toronto: Coach House Books, 2024) $23.95 / 9781552454763
First published May 15, 2018. Pulling Together: A Coach’s Journey to Uncover the Mindset of True Potential by Jason Dorland, foreword by David Meggyesy Victoria: Heritage House, 2017. $19.95 / 9781772031737 Reviewed by Brian Fraser * Jason Dorland is on a mission. He’s well prepared. He has spent his life training, performing, and coaching as…
Read more #303 Removing antagonism to win
The Green Horse: My Early Years in the Canadian Rockies — A Park Warden’s Story by Dale Portman Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2017 $25.00 / 9781771602266 Reviewed by Michelle Murphy First published May 7, 2018 * Like many, I am captivated by the beauty and vastness of the Canadian Rockies – and curious about the…
Read more #301 Glory days of Park Wardens
Summer of the Horse: A Memoir by Donna Kane Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2017 $19.95. 9781550178197 Reviewed by Heather Longworth Sjoblom First published May 7, 2018 * “Wilderness… is a place that retains its beauty because it escapes us.” — Donna Kane In her literary memoir, Summer of the Horse, Donna Kane explores the wilderness…
Read more #300 By horse to the Muskwa-Kechika
The Canadian Rockies: Rediscovered by Paul Zizka Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2017 $50.00 / 9781771602310 Reviewed by Mary Sanseverino First published April 28, 2018 * Revelstoke native and retired computer scientist Mary Sanseverino of the Canadian Mountain Legacy Project compares the work of Banff-based photographer Paul Zizka to American wilderness lensmen Ansell Adams and Galen…
Read more #294 From A (Ansel) to Z (Zizka)
A Peakbagger’s Guide to the Canadian Rockies: North by Ben Nearingburg and Eric Coulthard Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2017 $35.00 / 9781771601986 Reviewed by Rod Szasz First published April 15, 2018 * From Rocky Mountain Books comes A Peakbagger’s Guide to the Canadian Rockies: North by research scientist Ben Nearingburg and computer scientist Eric Coulthard,…
Read more #287 Enjoying the rat race
First published Feb. 24, 2018. Lace Up: A History of Skates in Canada by Jean-Marie Leduc, with Sean Graham & Julie Leger Victoria: Heritage House Publishing Company, 2017. $19.95 / 9781772032277 Reviewed by David Mills * A photo near the start of Lace-Up: A History of Skates in Canada will be familiar to many Canadians….
Read more #252 We came, we saw, we skated
The Transcontinentalist: Or, The Joys of the Road Manuscript in the Laing Papers at the B.C. Archives, written in 1915 by Hamilton Mack Laing Reviewed by Trevor Marc Hughes First published Nov. 17, 2017 * Editor’s note: We are delighted that Trevor Marc Hughes has ventured into the voluminous Laing Papers at the British Columbia…
Read more #203 Mack, the life
REVIEW: Surviving Logan by Erik Bjarnason and Cathi Shaw Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, $28 2016 / 9781771601924 Reviewed by PearlAnn Reichwein First published August 16, 2017 * In Surviving Logan, Erik Bjarnason of North Vancouver and his cousin Cathi Shaw of Summerland have joined with Rocky Mountain Books to produce what reviewer PearlAnn Reichwein calls…
Read more #156 Frostbitten on Canada’s Everest
Deadpoint by Nikki Tate Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2017 $9.95 / 9781459813526 Reviewed by Carol Anne Shaw First published May 31, 2017 * In Deadpoint, Ayla, a reluctant rock-climber, finds herself with two experienced injured climbers on the side of Black Dog Mountain. Reviewer Carol Shaw finds much to admire in the steep learning curve…
Read more #133 Black Dog desperation
British Columbia’s Cariboo Chilcotin Coast: A Photographer’s Journey by Chris Harris 108 Mile Ranch: Chris Harris and Country Light Publishing, 2016 $39.95 / 9780986581847 Reviewed by Trevor Marc Hughes First published Feb. 24, 2017 * First photographer Ian McAllister helped identify and preserve The Great Bear Rainforest. Now photographer Chris Harris sees the Chilcotin Ark…
Read more #94 Empire of the Cariboo Chilcotin
The Miracle Mile: Stories of the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games by Jason Beck Halfmoon Bay: Caitlin Press, 2016 $29.95 / 9781987915006 Reviewed by Roger Robinson First published Feb. 15, 2017 * In The Miracle Mile, Jason Beck explores the planning, hitches, and setbacks involved in Vancouver’s hosting of the 1954 British Empire and…
Read more #88 The ’54 Games began modern B.C.
J. Fenwick Lansdowne by Tristram Lansdowne (editor) Portland, OR: Pomegranate Communications, 2014 US $65.00 / 9780764966705 Reviewed by Briony Penn First published Feb. 7, 2017 * A fixture of Victoria’s artistic, cultural, and natural communities for five decades, James Fenwick Lansdowne (1937-2008) is now the subject of a book edited by his son Tristram, featuring…
Read more #81 Portraits of Fenwick Lansdowne
The Bold and Cold: A History of 25 Classic Climbs in the Canadian Rockies by Brandon Pullan Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2016 $45.00 / 9781771601153 Reviewed by Rod Szasz First published Dec. 4, 2016 * In The Bold and Cold, Brandon Pullan tells the story of the classic climbs in the Canadian Rockies in the…
Read more #58 Off the danger scale
Casting Back: Sixty Years of Fishing and Writing by Peter McMullan Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2016 $25.00 / 9781771601740 Reviewed by Ian J.M. Kennedy First published Nov. 29, 2016 * In Casting Back: Sixty Years of Fishing and Writing, Peter McMullan, the former editor of the Nanaimo Free Press, conveys his passion for fly-fishing in his…
Read more #52 A fishing journalist looks on
The Hockey Scribbler by George Bowering Toronto: ECW Press, 2016 $19.95 / 9781770412897 Reviewed by Bruce McDougall First published November 16, 2016 * If a mere hockey player like Wayne Gretzky were to write a book in which he criticized poets for ripping the feet off their anapests and bludgeoning scansion into a bloody pulp,…
Read more #44 Freeze the book in the corner
Mike Agostini: The Usain Bolt of 1954by Glinda Sutherland *Introduction: The Bannister-Landy Miracle Mile at the Commonwealth Games in Vancouver in 1954 is the subject of perhaps the most famous photo ever taken in BC, capturing that poignant moment when Landy looked over his shoulder as he was being passed by Bannister. The world’s first…
Read more #24 Mike Agostini: The Usain Bolt of 1954