Raincoast Chronicles First Five: Collector's Edition

by Howard White (Editor)

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

Genres: History, Canada, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1977

Reviews

[Psalm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This text is a priceless collection of B.C. colonial histories. The whole series, in fact, should be thrown into an omnibus and reprinted. As the title suggests, it's the first 5 issues of said series. It's a collaboration of maybe 20 historians with deep knowledge of the origin and development of the resource extraction practices that resulted in unchecked deforestation and the destruction of whale populations off the west coast. Most authors provide detailed accounts of pre-industrial techniques and use newspapers and collected fist-hand experiences. Many of the histories revolve around settler life and the dangerous venture of homesteading at the edge of a temperate rainforest. We don't have to wonder how things got this bad or what mentality the early settlers brought to the land. As a hiker of this coastal area and a settler, there is much here to reflect on.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The publishers have taken a magazine series of stories from British Columbia's west coast and combined the first five issues into a book. Some of the stories are treasures. The authors are to be commended for preserving this history that would otherwise have been lost. A few of the stories really stand out, for instance logging with trucks, using the old steam locomotives,and especially the legend of the rum runners. However, most interesting were the colourfull characters along the way. I must admit to skimming through the old native legends and poetry and also the extremely detailed descriptions of fishing that did not hold my interest. Which is why I cannot rate it five stars.