BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Rivtow was just a three-boat log-towing operation when Lucille Johnstone came aboard as an unskilled girl Friday in the late 1940s. By the 1980s, Rivtow had taken over its biggest rival to become one of the giants of the marine transportation industry with connections worldwide, and Lucille was the driving force behind its success. As the company grew she worked her way from receptionist to secretary to dispatcher to administrator to CEO and finally, to president. A remarkable feat for a woman in those times, and made even more remarkable in that her unlikely success took place in the male-dominated world of towboating.
Lucille Johnstone was as legendary for her kindness and social conscience as she was for her clever negotiating and creative deal making. Because of her selflessness, she unfortunately did not think it necessary to secure her position in the corporation she helped to build, ending up on the outside looking in after a generational shift of ownership. Putting that behind her, Lucille went on with life, this time as a driving force behind Expo 86, the new Vancouver International Airport and St. John Ambulance, among a number of other businesses and charities. Lucille's many recognitions include an honorary doctorate from UBC as a Woman of Distinction, and being named to both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada.
"...anyone interested in the history of business in British Columbia will love this book."
—Catherine Dook, Boat Journal
"Paul Levy has done British Columbia a great service by writing this biography of Lucille Johnstone... He has the accomplished author's knack of writing plain, unvarnished literature prose that produces a page turner."
--David Roberts, Q.C., The Advocate
"The biography is written engagingly...Levy covers [Tugboat Titan Lucille Johnstone's] life in a style that shows he knows and respect his readers almost as much as his subject. It's a good read about a special woman."
--Cherie Thiessen, Mariner Life