Joseph William McKay
Finalist, 2021 Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing
An intriguing look at the accomplishments and contradictions of Joseph William McKay, best known as the founder of Nanaimo, BC, and one of the most successful Métis men to rise through the ranks of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the late nineteenth century.
When examining the history …
Painted Fences
A charming and evocative story within a story, exploring themes of wartime resourcefulness, local history, friendship, and the reverberations of the past in the present day.
On a beautiful spring day in Victoria’s James Bay neighbourhood, eight-year-old Esther takes a walk with her great-grandfather on his birthday. On the same street and the same …
Flourishing and Free
An inspiring and eye-opening collection of true stories about sixteen women who blazed their own trails in life and contributed in a fundamental way to the history of Vancouver Island and the surrounding islands.
In this fascinating follow-up to On Their Own Terms, author Haley Healey chronicles the lives of a whole new crop of resilient, hard-worki …
Treasures of Winnipeg’s Historic Exchange
A breathtaking full-colour photography book celebrating the architectural splendour and cultural heritage of Winnipeg's famed Exchange District, a National Historic Site and one of the city’s most vibrant artistic, commercial, and tourist hubs.
The Exchange District is the architectural jewel of Winnipeg's downtown core, a thirty-block area featur …
Railway Nation
A riveting, visually engaging collection of vignettes highlighting the rich heritage of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Since its founding in 1881, Canadian Pacific has made an indelible mark on the lives of Canadians. Most commonly associated with its iconic railway, at its height CP also ran hotels, steamships, and an airline, and had myriad involve …
Heard Amid the Guns
"Carmichael captures the anguish and the wonder of war in flashes of colour, humour, and gems of human detail mined from letters, diaries, interviews, [and] her own family history." —Halifax Chronicle Herald
A rich and varied tapestry of the First World War, highlighting the personal stories of over 150 men and women from across North America who …
Journal of a Travelling Girl
FINALIST FOR TWO 2021 CANADIAN CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARDS
This fictional coming-of-age story traces a young girl’s reluctant journey by canoe through the ancestral lands of the Tłı̨chǫ People, as she gradually comes to understand and appreciate their culture and the significance of their fight for self-government.
"Journal of a Travelling Girl dese …
Pioneer Churches of Vancouver Island and the Salish Sea
A concise, full-colour visitor’s guide to dozens of historical churches scattered throughout Vancouver Island, from humble country chapels to soaring urban cathedrals.
For many European settlers who arrived on Vancouver Island in the late nineteenth century, building a church was as important as establishing a homestead or erecting a school. The c …
Legacy of Trees
An engaging, informative, and visually stunning tour of the numerous native, introduced, and ornamental tree species found in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, combining a wealth of botanical knowledge with a fascinating social history of the city’s most celebrated landmark.
Measuring 405 hectares (1,001 acres) in the heart of downtown Vancouver, Stanle …
Stagecoach North
An in-depth look at the origins and operations of a pioneering transportation company that moved people and goods across the province throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
At the height of the Cariboo Gold Rush, demand for an efficient transportation route to and from the goldfields was reaching a point of desperation. With a …
On Their Own Terms
"An engaging contribution to Canadian women's history." —BC Books for BC Schools
A fascinating collection of concise stories about seventeen courageous, independent, and diverse women who shaped the history of Vancouver Island.
From the lush rainforest of Clayoquot Sound to the bustling city streets of Victoria, Vancouver Island has been home to an …
The Final Voyage of the Valencia
A dynamic retelling of the deadly 1906 sinking of the SS Valencia off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, one of the worst maritime disasters in Canadian history.
There are few places on earth that have such a high record of marine casualties as the short yet treacherous stretch of coastline known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. In the late ni …
Robert Service
"Andra-Warner has given us a great read with this slim biography. Her story-telling skills excel at distilling historical facts into compelling narrative."—Thunder Bay Chronicle-Review
A quick-paced and engaging biography of Canada's favourite northern poet, Robert Service.
Born in England in 1874 to Scottish parents, Robert William Service was rai …
Four Who Dared
An absorbing testament to the contributions of four brave young Canadian volunteers who flew with British Bomber Command in the Second World War.
More than one million Canadians volunteered to serve in the Second World War—both in the Canadian armed forces and in forces across the British Commonwealth. In Four Who Dared, author and historian Kenne …
Driving to Treblinka
An intimate memoir recounting a woman’s quest to solve the mystery of her Holocaust survivor father’s death.
As a child growing up in Vancouver in the 1950s and early ’60s, Diana Wichtel knew there was something different about her family. Her parents were far from forthcoming about the harrowing details of her Jewish father’s journey from P …
Ranch Tales
An entertaining, fast-paced look at early ranching in British Columbia.
Frontier historian Ken Mather is known for his fascinating, in-depth profiles of the men and women who established a distinctive ranching culture in Western Canada over a hundred years ago. Now, in this concise collection of stories—based on Mather’s column in the Vernon Mor …
River of Dreams
A picturesque, reflective journey along the route of the ancient Milk River, from southern Alberta into northern Montana.
The Milk River is a small and dreamy river, flowing lazily through some of the loneliest lands of North America, the dry plains of Alberta and Montana. Dwarfed by such giants as the Saskatchewan and Mississippi Rivers, it is inde …
Searching for Pitt Lake Gold
A smart, concise analysis of the legend of Slumach’s Gold, which strives to uncover the truth behind this mythical gold deposit said to be hidden north of Pitt Lake.
British Columbia is gold country, and with gold comes legends that have been passed down through the generations. Ever since the Fraser Canyon gold rush, prospectors and adventurers h …
Mounties for Kids
In Mounties for Kids, acclaimed wildlife artist Tom Hunter turns his pen to creating fun activities for children about the history of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Founded in 1873, the RCMP has gone through many changes, from a force that travelled by horse and dogsled to one that uses modern investigation techniques. The activities in these p …
The Bulldog and the Helix
A investigative reporter traces the role of DNA evidence in two groundbreaking murder cases involving young girls killed two decades apart in the same town.
In 1977, the industrial town of Port Alberni was shaken by the brutal murder of twelve-year-old Carolyn Lee, who had been abducted while walking home from her dance class. In 1996, the town was …
Ranching under the Arch
A visually rich, historically epic tale of cattle ranching in southern Alberta, focusing on multi-generational family-owned ranches that are still in existence today.
In the 1880s, a group of fledgling cattle ranchers descended on the plains of southern Alberta. They were drawn by the promise of the West, where the grass seemed endless and they coul …
The Famous Five
A concise history of the five women who changed the course of history and brought Canadians one step closer to equality.
On August 27, 1927, five women gathered at a house on Edmonton’s Southside to sign a letter that would change the course of Canadian history. Those women were Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby, and Henr …
Cornelius O'Keefe
An entertaining biography of cattle baron and land magnate Cornelius O'Keefe, founder of the Historic O'Keefe Ranch.
From humble beginnings to a life of prosperity in the heart of the Okanagan Valley, Cornelius O'Keefe is best known today through the historic ranch in Vernon, BC, that still bears his name. Established in 1867, the O'Keefe Ranch was …
James Macleod
A vivid account of the life and times of the larger-than-life Canadian hero who played a major role in the peaceful development of western Canada.
A descendant of warriors, chiefs, and military men of the Clan MacLeod, James A.F. Macleod led an adventurous life that took him from his birthplace on Scotland's Isle of Skye to the Canadian west. After …
Cornelius O'Keefe
An entertaining biography of cattle baron and land magnate Cornelius O’Keefe, founder of the Historic O’Keefe Ranch.
From humble beginnings to a life of prosperity in the heart of the Okanagan Valley, Cornelius O’Keefe is best known today through the historic ranch in Vernon, BC, that still bears his name. Established in 1867, the O’Keefe Ra …
A Not-So-Savage Land
A richly illustrated exploration of the art, life, and historical impact of artist Frederick Whymper, who documented the landscape of the North American west.
Before the advent of photography, the topography of the colonial North American landscape was recorded by travelling artists hired to reproduce what they saw with unadulterated realism. One of …
From Rinks to Regiments
A celebration of thirty-two heroes of the First World War enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Praise for Remembered in Bronze and Stone:
“A remarkable look at the many ways we honoured our war dead.”—Canada’s History
“A fine tribute and a call to current and future generations.”—Mark Zuehlke, author of the Canadian Battle Series and …
Last Flight to Stuttgart
A woman’s journey to uncover the fate of seven RCAF crewmen who perished in the Second World War.
For most of her life, Lisa Russ knew little about her second cousin, Robert “Bud” George Alfred Burt. All she had were two grainy photos, a poem Bud had written shortly before his death, and the knowledge that he was a tail gunner in a Lancaster b …
Trail North
Winner (second prize), 2019 British Columbia Lieutenant Governor's Medal for Historical Writing
A revealing history of the ancient trail that served as a major transportation route between Washington and British Columbia and shaped the cultural and economic ties between the two jurisdictions.
Trails are the most enduring memorials of human occupation …
