Encyclopedia Of British Columbia

The BC publishing event of the decade! 30,000 copies in print!

Winner of the 2010 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional BC Book Prize Winner of the 2009 Lieutenant-Governor's Medal for Historical Writing In 1909 Captain John T. Walbran published one of the most beloved and enduring of all BC books, British Columbia Coast Names. Harbour Publishing celebrates the hundredth anniversary of that landmark work by presenting the first book to update Walbran's classic, Andrew Scott's Raincoast Place Names. Like its progenitor, Raincoast Place Names is much more than simply a catalogue of name origins because it tells the often fascinating stories behind the names and in so doing serves as a history of the region in capsule form. It is also a monumental work, twice the size of Walbran's and including more than three times as many places. Four thousand entries consider, in intriguing detail, the stories behind over five thousand place names: how they were discovered, who named them and why, and what the names reveal. It describes the original First Nations cultures, the heroics of the 18th-century explorers and fur traders, the gruelling survey and settlement efforts of the 19th century, the lives of colonial officials, missionaries, gold seekers and homesteaders, and the histories of nearly every important vessel to sail or cruise the coast. The book also examines--for the first time--the rich heritage of BC place names added in the 20th century. These new entries reflect the world of the steamship era, the ships and skippers of the Union and Princess lines, the heroes of the two World Wars and the sealing fleet, Esquimalt's naval base and BC's fishing, canning, mining and logging industries. Richly illustrated with photos and maps, this book is an essential reference work, a must-have guide for boaters and mariners and a standard companion for anyone interested in BC history. It also makes a fine shelf-mate for the Encyclopedia of British Columbia.

The West has long attracted visionaries and schemers from around the world. And no other region in North America can outstrip British Columbia for the number of utopian or intentional settlement attempts in the past 150 years. Andrew Scott delves into the dramatic stories of these fascinating, but often doomed, communities. From Doukhobor farmers to Finnish coal miners, Quakers and hippies, many groups have struggled to build idealistic colonies in BC’s inspiring landscape. While most discovered hardship, disillusionment and failure, new groups sprang up—and continue to spring up—to take their place. Meet the quick-tempered, slave-driving Madame Zee (partner of the infamous Brother XII), who reportedly beat followers with a riding crop. Hear from Richard “The Troll” Schaller, who founded the Legal Front Commune, General Store and Funny Food Farm on the Sunshine Coast, setting off a storm of hostility from locals. Congregate with Jerry LeBourdais and fellow members of the Ochiltree Organic Commune, who rebelled from hippie communes by embracing meat eating and coffee drinking. With careful research and engaging first-person accounts, Scott sifts through the wreckage of the utopia-seekers’ dreams and delves into the practices and philosophies of contemporary intentional communities. This book is a compendium of astounding misadventures as well as an intriguing analysis of what moves people to search for paradise.

Covers the city of Vancouver and the surrounding metropolitan area primarily located in the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

A book that has become a west coast institution - articles, stories, poems, drawings covering every imaginable aspect of northwest history and folklore. The first five issues of "Raincoast Chronicles," dating back to 1972. Winner of the first Eaton's British Columbia Book Award, this is the innovative institution at the heart of BC regional publishing. Northwest history and folklore, unromanticized, in a unique magazine format, blending reminiscences, articles, drawings, photos. . . "The best source book available on Canada's west coast." -"Books in Canada" "Utterly absorbing. . . until "Raincoast Chronicles" came along the fabulous west coast rum-runners and ghost logging camps went unrecalled save in the dimming memories of oldtimers." -"Maclean's" "The magazine is a thoroughly professional production in terms of design, layout and graphics, and the quality of the writing is just as impressive." -"Quill and Quire" ""Raincoast Chronicles" reveals western identity. . . as dense as the undergrowth in the rainforest, and as richly alive." -"CBC Radio" "Still my favourite magazine" -Lorne Parton

Over 900 maps plus 300 illustrations and photographs tell the story of the planners, schemers, gold seekers and fur traders who built Canada's westernmost province.

With over 300 entries, "The B.C. Fact Book" is an eclectic mix of information and folklore that captures the eccentricities, diverse heritage, and interesting places of British Columbia.