BC Books From Vancouver Island & the Coast

Breathtaking photographs and text by award-winning photographer David Hall capture the magnificent marine life of North America's West Coast.

The Pacific Coast of North America features the most diverse and visually spectacular marine life of any temperate or cold-water ecosystem on the planet. From tiny, candy-striped shrimp to the giant Pacific octopus, from alabaster nudibranchs, luminous moon jellyfish, orchid sea stars, and wolf-eels to Steller sea lions, white-sided dolphins, and so much mo …

The best-selling comprehensive guide to the fundamentals of sea kayaking, for day trippers and expedition paddlers alike.

Still regarded as “the bible” for both new and experienced kayakers after more than 30 years in print and 60,000 copies sold, Sea Kayaking covers the basics of equipment and technique as well as how to read the weather and the water, plan for long-distance expeditions, and survive in raging seas. Fully updated with hints about worthwhile digital technologies, tips for suc …

The definitive guide to hiking western Vancouver Island, now in an updated third edition.

The rugged west coast of Vancouver Island offers some of the most spectacular and storied hiking in the Pacific Northwest, including the world-famous West Coast Trail. All 10 major trails, from the botanically rich Juan de Fuca Trail in the south to the remote cape Scott Trail in the north, are described in detail with insider tips and clear, two-color maps. New for this edition are the wild and challenging …

A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick

For thirty years, Brian Brett shared his office and his life with Tuco, a remarkable parrot given to asking such questions as “Whaddya know?” and announcing “Party time!” when guests showed up at Brett’s farm. Although Brett bought Tuco on a whim as a pet, he gradually realizes the enormous obligation he has to the bird and learns that the parrot is a lot more complex than he thought.

Simultaneously a biography of this singular bird and a history of bird/dinos …

A testament to the miraculous beings that share our planet and the places that they live, The Wild in You is a deeply-felt creative collaboration between one of our time’s best nature photographers and a very talented and creative poet. Inspired by the majestic and savage beauty of Ian McAllister’s photographs, Lorna Crozier translates the wild emotion of these images into the language of the human heart: poetry. Featuring over 30 beautiful full-size photographs of wolves, bears, sea lions, …

In this marriage of memoir and manifesto, Elizabeth May reflects on her extraordinary life and the people and experiences that have formed her and informed her beliefs about democracy, climate change, and other crucial issues facing Canadians. The book traces her development from child activist who warned other children not to eat snow because it contained Strontium 90 to waitress and cook on Cape Breton Island to law student, lawyer, and environmentalist and finally to leader of the Green Party …

“[Brett’s] writing is so vivid, the observations so telling, that a reader can virtually feel the smooth heft of a collected egg in the palm of a hand or hear the goofy, honking dawn call of the peacock.” —Globe & Mail on Trauma Farm

A raucous biography of a remarkable parrot and an incisive exploration of how we relate to those who are different from us.

Both a biography of an irreverent African Grey parrot—given to asking “Whaddya know?” and announcing “Party time!”—and an …

"Each poem and photograph in this book honors the patch of Earth we have carved our home in; its squelch of mud, whale song, the berry balanced on a white bear's tongue. Together, Crozier and McAllister crystallize an ecosystem as powerful as the grizzly bear and as fragile as a crane fly’s wing." —Eliza Robertson, author of Wallflowers

A gorgeous and stirring collection of photos and poems from photographer Ian McAllister and Governor General’s Award-winning poet Lorna Crozier that reveal …