Columbia Books

I purchased Following the Boulder Train because I have a small interest in geology, a curiosity about prospectors, and a fascination with "finding the hidden thing." I enjoyed Tom Henry's tale of prospectors and geologist in British Columbia because it exposes at least part of the story of how we get, for example, the copper pipes under the bathroom sink. What makes this yarn really fun is that all of the folks involved in the search for valuable minerals (or learning to search for them) are interesting, quirky characters, and therein lies the tale. I found this book had two minor faults. (1) it would have been greatly improved by the inclusion of a few charts or diagrams to given a better idea of the land involved. (2) In a few places, Henry absolutely aced me with some Canadian slang that I found absolutely incomprehensible.

I recommend this book. Read it and you'll never look at a rock the same way again.

"The Curve of Time" written by M. Wylie Blanchet is one of my favorite books so I am very pleased that Cathy Converse has written a terrific biography about "Capi" Blanchet--captain of the Caprice, adventurer, mother and unique individual.
"Following the Curve of Time" is well written and researched by an author who has also explored by boat the inside passage waterways of British Columbia. Having done some boating myself around the Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound I am very impressed that Capi and her children overcame the challenges of having spent the whole summer cruising aboard a 25 foot motor boat with 1 adult, 5 children and a dog.
It is a testament to the beauty of the B.C. coastal waters and the spirit of Capi and her children that they returned to go cruising every summner for 12 years. Capi's love and memory for those summers resulted in the classic "The Curve of Time".
Cathy Converse's book is a wonderful biography of Capi Blanchet and I think would be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates the beauty of the B.C. coastal waters. I enjoyed the pictures (some taken by Capi herself) and the First Nations information. There is also navigational information that boater's will enjoy including the extreme tide and currents in some areas that require precise navigation. Capi had to contend with these as do boaters in the area today.
Thanks to "Following the Curve of Time" there is now a biogrphy about the author of "The Curve of Time". Now if only a movie could be made. Katharine Hepburn would have made a wonderful onscreen Capi. Gosh, how about Cate Blanchett in the starring role. Blanchett playing the role of Blanchet! That's a movie I would like to see.

As an American boy growing up in France, we had only to hop it down to the local grocery to find the very best terrine. Massimo Montanari, author of a new compendium of his food columns, has written an exciting book about how and why people (especially in the Wrst) became interested in eating as an aesthetic proposition. Just yesterday here in San Francisco, I had the strange experience of having one of Montanari's columns come to life, as at a festive Thanksgiving dinner, someone brought a heaping box of cranberry flavored biscotti, explaining that the Italian bakeries of North Beach made them only at Thanksgiving and Christmas, for there's no market for them at other times of the year.

Exactly, Massimo Montanari would exclaim. One of his chapters shows how once a dish is associated with Christmas, you never see it the whole year round, and some foods (gingerbread for example) have been unfairly stigmatized with this "Christmas branding," although anybody could enjoy a nice piece of gingerbread in any season except that culturally, it would revolt us and most of us, even if we were starving, shipwrecked with Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sun and the rest of the cast of LOST, on a desert island, most of us would turn up our noses at gingerbread. Brillat Savarin said it best, "Tell me what you eat anbd I'll tell you what you are," but canny old Massimo Montanari turns the good Frenchman upside his head to produce a slew of new apercus.

He knows his history backwards and forewards. When, for example, did Europeans introduce the custom of providing salad, sherbet, or just plain still water between courses? Montanari knows! And, he theorizes: would you ever suspect that the popularity of McDonalds is at least partially due to its providing the atavistic thrill of eating with one's hands, a practice that has been gradually taken from us since its heyday in the Middle Ages?

Even if you think you're not interested in food, this book will make you wonder how much of it is you, and how much of you is it.

This book is an account of the edible wild plants used by the Coastal Native Americans of British Columbia as well as some of their history and culture. It covers some general harvesting, preparation, seasonal plant use and detailed accounts of specific plants which have a brief description, habitat, distribution in B.C., and "Indian" use. Although the plants covered are for a particular area the information contained is invaluable for the serious forager. Because you soon realize that this information can be utilized for species in the same genus found in the eastern U.S. (i.e. Rubus, Rosa, Rumex, Allium, Tsuga) and collection/preparation techniques may be applicable to other plants. Covers seaweeds, ferns, confiers, mono & dicots. Lots of color pictures, 2 appendicies: non-native food plants and poisonous or inedible plants. A great reference book for the gatherer of wild edibles!

An account of the edible wild plants used by the Interior Native Americans of British Columbia as well as some of their history and culture. It covers some general harvesting, preparation, seasonal plant use and detailed accounts of specific plants which have a brief description, habitat, distribution in B.C., and "Indian" use. Although the plants covered are for a particular area the information contained is invaluable for the serious forager. Because you soon realize that this information can be utilized for species in the same genera found in the eastern U.S. (i.e. Lilium, Pinus, Prunus, Vaccinium) and collection/preparation techniques may be applicable to other plants. Covers lichens, mushrooms & fungi, confiers, mono & dicots. Lots of color pictures, 4 appendicies: sporadically used plants by interior people, plants of limited use by interior people, non-native food plants and poisonous or inedible plants. Note that some plant species are repeated in Part 2 from Part 1. Still a great reference book for the gatherer of wild edibles!

Nancy Turner's coverage of food plants in her area is amazing. In this new edition, the photos are splendid and really aid in identifying the plants. She has found out about the plants from the people who have used them extensively. One of my favorite wild edible plant books!

I discovered this book while researching my family history. The bulk of it is daily entries by me who lived and worked at Fort Langley between 1827 and 1830. Fort Langley, constructed over the summer of 1827, was built for trading not military purposes, and was the first such construction on the Fraser River in what would become, in Nov 1858, British Columbia. If your family history has roots in the West Coast fur trade era, it is a valuable source of what life was like for those ancestors. Most of the fort's employees between 1827 and 1830 are mentioned by name in the assorted journals presented in this book.

The contents include:

-Illustrations and maps
-Journal kept by George Barnston 1827-1828
-Journal kept by James McMillan and Archibald McDonald 1828-1829
-Journal kept by Archibald McDonald 1829-1830
-Journal kept by Archibald McDonald Feb-July 1830
-Letter book & other notes kept by Archibald McDonald
-The Ethnographic Significance of the Fort Langley Journals by Wayne Suttles

As well as appendices dealing with
-The Clallam
-McMillan's report to Governor & Council 15 feb 1828
-McDonald's report to Governor & Council 25 Feb 1830
-Biographies of Shashia & Simon Plamondon
-Names in the Fort Langley Journals

with notes, references, and index, 21 illustrations and 5 maps.

A must have for the Pacific Slope historian.

I am a professor at the University of Indiana, and I have been looking for a textbook about Asian Americans and their life in the United States. There are books about Blacks, Latinos, basically every other minority group, except Asians. Segal is a Pioneer in this sense, and the book sets a standard that will be hard to match. Segal, an immigrant herself, shines light on the Asian communities individually, rather than clumping all Asians together, as previous authors have done. So far, this book has only received positive feedback from my class. It is much better and much more organized than the previous material I had (photocopies of varies sources). All my students, some of which are Asian, have embraced this book. I highly recommend this book, for "it goes where no other book has gone before."

Julie Burtinashaw's novel, The Freedom Of Jenny, is the story of Jenny Estes, a young daughter of a ex-slaves and Madagascar natives, and her family's quest to live in California. As the family realization that California is not so much the better life they had expected, The Freedom Of Jenny carries the tattered family even further north to Canada's Salt Spring Island as Jenny's responsibilities involve the whole family. An engagingly original and nicely crafted tale of self discovery, The Freedom Of Jenny is recommended as a work of entreating fiction with historically accurate occurrences as one young woman and her family strive for a new life.

Plenty of books have been written on French cuisine and history; but JeanRobert Pitte's French Gastronomy is different. It is about the study of French cuisine: the history and geography of a passion for French cooking. Individual chapters link the mystique of food and eating in France to a sense of place and microregions that allow for different agricultural results. French Gastronomy is an intriguing history and very highly recommended for avid French popular culture and culinary enthusiasts.