In this wide-ranging study, Stephen Stuempfle explores the transformation of the landscape (material environment) of Port of Spain from the cocoa boom era at the turn of the twentieth century through Trinidad and Tobago’s independence from Britain in 1962. In addition to outlining the creative work of planners, architects, engineers and builders, he examines depictions of the city in journalism, travel literature, fiction, photographs and maps, and elucidates how diverse social groups empl...

Florida is blessed with a semitropical climate, beautiful inland areas, and over a thousand miles of warm seas and sandy beaches. And Floridians are every bit as colorful and diverse as the tropical foliage. The interaction between Florida's people and its environment has created distinctive mixes of traditional life unlike those anywhere else in America.Florida's cultural foundation includes Seminoles, Anglo-Celtic Crackers, African Americans, transplanted northerners, and ethnic ...

The story of the growth and destruction of Toronto's first 'priority neighbourhood.'From the 1840s until the Second World War, waves of newcomers who migrated to Toronto – Irish, Jewish, Italian, African American and Chinese, among others – landed in 'The Ward.' Crammed with rundown housing and immigrant-owned businesses, this area, bordered by College and Queen, University and Yonge streets, was home to bootleggers, Chinese bachelors, workers from the nearby Eaton...

In a country this diverse, 'culture' has different meanings. Vance tells a story from the wind-swept Arctic where a stranded Innu woman, fighting to survive, took the time to decorate her clothing with rich designs. A British explorer was amazed at her efforts, but Vance reminds us of the inseparable connection between life and art in Inuit culture (the Innu word for 'breathe' also means 'to make poetry,' and both derive from the word for 'the soul'). No surprise that Aboriginal culture began...

Found on the history shelves of the Greater Victoria Public Library, these twenty true stories are brought to life by Stephen Ruttan. They draw a picture of the life of a city with a recent past that's both unconventional and colourful. From Miss Wilson and her famous parrot, Louis, to Jimmy Chicken Island, named after a man who acquired his surname from his habit of stealing chickens, to the Pig War, when Britain and the United States nearly came to blows over the San Juan Islands, to the...

From Hudson's Bay outpost to gold rush fever and coal and lumber barons to political scandals Island-style to the mighty Douglas fir and Pacific salmon and profiles of Emily Carr, Cougar Annie and the Dunsmuir clan, no book is more comprehensive than the Vancouver Island Book of Everything. No book is more fun!Well-known Islanders weigh in on their favourite things about Vancouver Island. Robert Bateman shares his five most inspiring island locales; Michael Halleran tell...

A brisk chronicle of Vancouver, BC, from early days to its emergence as a global metropolis, refracted through the events, characters and communities that have shaped the city.In Becoming Vancouver award-winning historian Daniel Francis follows the evolution of the city from early habitation by the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, to the area’s settlement as a mill town, to the flourishing era speakeasies and brothels during the 1920s, ...

From the number of kilometers of coastline to the stories behind those weird place names (hello Ecum Secum) to profiles of Joe Howe and Alexander Keith, there is no book as comprehensive as the Nova Scotia Book of Everything. There is also no book more fun. Well known Nova Scotians like Premier Rodney MacDonald weigh in on subjects like the five Nova Scotians he admires most; Ashley MacIssac tells us his five greatest Nova Scotians; Joel Plaskett gives up his favorite hangouts. Th...

From local history to the best beaches, craziest weather and more—this book reveals everything you ever wanted to know about the Canadian coastal province.In New Brunswick Book of Everything, local author Martha Walls explores everything from the stories behind its weird place names, like Skeedaddle Ridge, to profiles of New Brusnwick notables, such as singer/songwriter Stompin' Tom and former premier Frank McKenna. Plus she includes fascinating trivia, li...

The twin Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago could hardly be more different. Trinidad is vibrant, cosmopolitan, culturally diverse, and multiethnic, with a population descended from East Indian, African, Spanish, French, Dutch, American, Chinese, Syrian, and English forebears. This potent mix finds full expression in unbridled revelry each February with the celebration of Carnival—a dazzling, open-to-all-comers, mass participation street extravaganza of steel bands, calypso, dance, an...

St. John’s: A Brief History provides a concise, comprehensive overview of Newfoundland history and modern St. John’s. The book describes how, through war and the fishery, Newfoundland became settled, a colony, a Dominion of the British Empire and a province of Canada. The book highlights the landmarks and historic sites of old St John’s, architecture and historic buildings, the harbour, places of interest around the harbour and St. John’s, our seafaring heritage, marine life, the fishery, ...

Our illustrated travel guide will take you to the rock of Gibraltar, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom on the southern coast of Spain at the entrance to the Mediterranean sea. Gibraltar has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain and adjoins the Costa del Sol, Spain.Gibraltar is a unique place for the curious traveller who can explore its unique caves and tunnels and see the impressive Rock and the famous Barbary Apes. Come to Gibraltar or combine it with a visit to the C...