Northwest Books

I agree with Tom Poiker's review that this book is eminently readable, and that the critical movements are staged like a movie, but I strongly disagree that there are only two traditions in Canadian historical writing. The third is the predominantly Central-Canadian-chauvinist view of history, which only treats with "the West", and BC in particular, as being of any importance when it has to do with central Canadian history. (and that BC is "wacky", which is I suppose a way of saying that we're not as boring as the rest of the country). This is one reason why so much of BC's history is misunderstood, or more often blithely ignored - because it does not fit the Canadian mold. The tale of McGowan's War, like so much else of early BC history, is barely known even in BC, and nearly unheard-of in the rest of the country. As observed in passing by Tom Poiker, it is a regular conceit of Canadian history that BC's destiny to become part of Canada was a foregone conclusion, and that none of the troubles in the goldfields described in McGowan's War, or in such matters as the Oregon or San Juan or Alaska Boundary Disputes, could have worked out any other way and that American annexation (or British Columbia remaining a separate unit within the Empire). Even the Akriggs and Ormsby make this assumption in their work, and it is repeated in more recent works such as those by Bowering, McLennan and Barman. And as observed in a recent doctoral thesis by Dan Marhsall of UBC, the vast collection of documents written by frontier-era Americans in BC and assembled by Bancroft was placed in San Francisco. As a result it has been completely unexamined in Canadian historiography, and as a result it has been possible to pander to certain biases, such as the demonization of Ned McGowan, without having to consider the other side of the story. Similarly, as Marshall and Hauka both observe, events in early British Columbia are generally treated as though they happened in isolation, and are not part of the history of the rest of the Pacific Northwest after 1846 (the Oregon Boundary treaty).

Hauka's book is the first to draw on some of the Bancroft materials in depth, particularly in the character profile and personal history of Ned McGowan. He also writes up one of the most trenchant tellings of the sordid Fraser Canyon War that precedes the events of McGowan's War, and also gives a completely novel account of Gov. Douglas' motives and machinations in manipulating the gold rush overall. The role of San Francisco civic politics in the goldfields, in particular that of the infamous Vigilance Committee, is illuminating - and not just because it helps to vilify the generally villainized Ned McGowan. The villainy of British magistrates Whannell and Hicks is also fully exposed (having been glossed over in Akrigg et al). A more complete picture of BC in 1858 does not exist, whether it's the nature of life in Yale and Hill's Bar or the political manoeuvring of Douglas and Nugent (the American consul in Victoria).

It is a truism that the best historical writing in BC has been by journalists rather than by historians. Hauka's book is a case in point, and one of the best examples, joining the works by Huthinson, Glavin, Hume, Morley, St. Pierre and other pressmen and putting to shame the overblown and overhyped histories by Barman and Bowering, which are full of gaffes, out-of-context misjudgements, and downright errors on every other page. It is a pity that this book is out-of-print, but like so many works of BC history this is the case. This book SHOULD be a textbook - but then again, BC history is not really taught anywhere in Canada, not even in BC's own universities....

For the longest time, Canadian history writing was held down by two historical traditions, the European idea that only events that happened at least five hundred years ago, and in Europe, are of interest, and the American approach of advertised news. Canada, a country that beats them both in the numbers of conflicts and newsworthy scoundrels, had a hard time to establish its own sense of history. But it has arrived, by the hands of a few gifted writers, one of them being Don Hauka.

McGowan's War gives us a peek into a very important period in BC's history. It describes the second half of the eighteen-fifties, the time of the early, pre-Barkerville gold rush when hordes of American gold-diggers did everything to unsettle the British sense of law and order and deliver the Province to the powers to the South.

To understand a country's history, you don't need to know what happened year after year. There are a few periods that are critical and determine the behavior of a place for many decades and centuries. For BC, the early gold-rush years are likely the single-most important period in the determination of what this fragile region would become. Don describes it through the characters of James Douglas, BC's first Governor, Matthew Baillie Begbie, later known (wrongly) as the "hanging judge", and the American Ned McGowan. In the process, he tries to rectify McGowan's reputation - he has been wrongly described as a political criminal.

The book is eminently readable. The critical moments are staged like in a movie, the conflicts between the three groups - the British establishment, the American roughians and the noble Indians - are presented through personalities of likeable dignity, and the flow of the story is driven by individuals of lesser importance but equally likeable humanity.

I predict that this book will have a very long shelf life because it describes a very important period in BC's history and it does it very well, indeed.

Excellent Mystery/Drama. One of those books you just can't put down until you're done.

I have read this book several times and I still enjoy it. I can't wait for the sequel to come out!

I may be a bit biased as this book is written by my great-grandfather and edited by my great-uncle. However, the "Medicine Man" is a fun look at a time in U.S. History when the west was still to be explored. It was a time of story tellers and colorful characters. That is the story of the "Medicine Man". I would love to hear what you think of the book. Owen "Brad" Stratton

Several weeks ago, my wife and I visited the Little Bighorn (Custer) National Battlefield Monument in Montana. As we were leaving the grounds of the monument, we noticed the Big Indian Tepee Trading Post (or something to that effect) across the road ("Gifts, Souvenirs, T-Shirts, Cold Drinks, Food, Whatever"). I didn't feel like getting scalped in a tourist ambush, but my wife wanted to check it out. So, of course, we stopped. And, I'm glad we did, because I came across this absolutely marvelous book.

Owen Tully Stratton was a medicine show pitchman from 1898 to 1904, and a licensed, small town MD from 1906 to 1950. MEDICINE MAN is his memoir, as edited by his son. In the book's first 100 pages, Owen recounts his crisscrossing of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Montana and Idaho as a medicine show huckster. While today one might view such an entrepreneur as not much better than a used car salesman at best, or scam artist at worst, I learned one very surprising fact. Owen's medicine show, and the others he talks about, regularly employed an MD licensed in the state they were traveling through. In any town the show happened to be working, the physician would set up a temporary office to see patients referred to him by the pitchman. The show's MD was not necessarily any more of a quack than the local medicos, so he was actually in a position to provide legitimate medical care - and often did. Of course the medicine show and its tame MD were bitterly resented by the local sawbones and pill pushers.

The remainder of the volume is Owen's recollection of his life as a degreed and licensed MD, practicing at various times in Washington, Idaho and Montana. It was a hard existence, both on himself and his family. But Dr. Stratton reminisces with a perceptive wit that calls to mind the writings of the great Mark Twain. At one point, the author, a self-confident general practitioner (GP) but reluctant surgeon, recounts the time he assisted on an appendectomy with a more experienced, but inebriated, cutter:

"My surgeon, in his drunken enthusiasm, discarded contaminated instruments by throwing them against the wall. The patient knew nothing of that, and her convalescence was uneventful. With that experience, my surgical feet warmed up a trifle."

Evident to the reader are the striking differences between the practice of medicine then and now, with some not necessarily for the better. Take, for example, "house calls". For those of you too young to be acquainted with the concept, a house call was a visit by a physician to a patient's home to render care. This was simply the way medicine was practiced in those days, and up until the time of the mid 20th century. (As a young boy in the early 50's, I remember accompanying my father, also a GP, on his house call rounds.)

I cannot recommend this book to highly. I was particularly impressed by the circumstances surrounding the good doctor's own death, as related by his son in an Editor's Epilog. His departure from life was pure class.

My own father is deceased these past 25 years, but I shall give this volume to my mother, also an MD. Her maternal grandfather was a physician in rural Missouri at the end of the 19th century, and I'm sure she'll find it as fascinating as I did.

Awsome! This book is a riviting read...the first and the second time through. Beautiful use of the english language notably the metaphors. A great bedtime story reader. A must read for children of all ages.

I know the author and have read a lot of her work. She is far from ordinary in her books and Moosedreams is only a glance at her wide scope of writing. Read it and ask for more!

This book has made me want to visit Alaska. I would recommend it to everyone! (Great bathroom book!!)

This book is full of very funny stories about Alaska and the people who live there. This is the kind of book that you can just pick up flip to any page and read something that will make you laugh. This is a must buy book for anyone who is interested in the lighter side of life. Anyone who reads this will laugh, you don't have to live in Alaska to get the jokes. This book is for everyone.

I wish all guide books were as well researched as this one. Each hand drawn map has GPS waypoints on it plus all the major features and a reference to the USGS/Green Trails Map. Locations of nearby campgrounds and supplies. Plus a very nice rating system so you don't get in over your head. There are 2 maybe 3 overlapping trails with the "Kissing the Trail" book but that's ok. Wish I had thought of having a career of riding my bike and writing a book about it. Way to go John.

These two books are the bomb(S). The directions and the descriptions of the rides are spot on and most importantly the selection of the rides (if you like truly remote, tough, and stunningly beautiful adventures) is tremendous. My copies of these books are dog eared with love and mud. Trust me you cannot go wrong with these books - and I've biked all over the country - or biking in the Pacific Northwest July - Sept - Amazing! Too good! Be prepared for some long drives from Seattle (2hrs each way) but the memories will last much longer. Enjoy! I hope Zilly goes on to write books for the rest of the country...

This is a great book to promote writing and photojournalism with children. The pictures and writing make you feel like you are exploring with them!

Fantastic photos of one of the planet's most scenic places. An excellent book for families who love the outdoors and enjoy sharing time together. Consider "My Denali" a dream book, it is inspirational and darn pretty to read, over and over again.

This is an excellent, first hand account of the major transformation of Plains Indian culture that occured during the nearly complete extermination of the buffalo which was so central to their life. It starts with the buffalo in plenty and ends with reservation life. This is a bittersweet book. Schultz marries into a band of the Piegan branch of the Blackfoot confederacy. But although he lives among them, and loves them and their lifestyle, he never completes his assimilation. This is evident when he writes with almost distant amusement of some of their religious beliefs. Adding to this is the problem that while he loves the life of the buffalo days and deeply laments their end, his occupation as a trader in buffalo robes is contributing to the end of the very thing he loves. His description of the post-buffalo, early reservation life is the most distressing, complete with corrupt reservation Agents, and often rascist newcomers.
His stories are not all downers though. His writing is a very detailed, intimate, and at times humorous description of the life and adventures of himself and those around him. I've loaned my book to a number of people and they all have liked it. If you read this and like it too, you'll be glad to know he wrote a whole series of books of his life in early Montana, and of the lives of prominent people he knew. I've read many, but not all of them, and I prize every one.

I read "My Life As An Indian" when I was thirteen. It was the biggest book I'd ever read, and I re-read so many times that my name filled the entire library card. The librarian at Southeast Kentucky's Cumberland High School finally gave me the tattered book. It's the most complete and believable look ever at the daily life of American Plains Indians in the 1800's--how they lived, how they loved, what they admired and what they were afraid of, how they fought, what they believed in and respected, and what they worshipped. And most of all it's a real-life experience with them and the one thing they loved most: their land. Written by a white man with an Indian's perspective.

In an eloquent bit of understatement, RM Patterson called the savage South Nahanni River "The Dangerous River". Despite this advance billing, John Moore proposed marriage to his fiancée and, at the same time, suggested that they spend their honeymoon homesteading for one year in the wildly remote Nahanni valley. Joanne accepted and the rest, as they say, is history.

Lovers of adventure reading will savor "Nahanni Trailhead", the distillation of Joanne's journal from their wilderness year, compiled from diary notes written at the end of almost every challenging day. Courage, romance, hardship, excitement, cold, danger, peace, tranquility, fulfilment, loneliness and occasionally even tedium ... but all of it in an easy going style of writing that flows naturally from first page to last.

Read it once and, I guarantee it, you'll read it again. Highly recommended!

Paul Weiss

I love this book and reread it every couple of years. It has always been my dream to live in the wilderness for a year, as this honeymooning couple did.
It is well and simply written, with a few maps but only disappointingly blurry pictures. There's lots of great description, including the occasional tedium of holing up for the winter, the joys they had exploring the area once spring arrived, and the terror of dealing with wolves (or was it bears?) trying to break into their cabin.
They are candid about what they did wrong and how they dealt with spending so much uninterrupted time together.