Manufacturing National Park Nature: Photography, Ecology, and the Wilderness Industry of Jasper
J. Keri Cronin

National parks occupy a prominent place in the Canadian imagination, yet we are only beginning to understand how their visual representation has shaped and continues to inform our perceptions of ecological issues and the natural world. J. Keri Cronin draws on historical and modern postcards, advertisements, and other images of Jasper National Park to trace how various groups and the tourism industry have used photography to divorce the park from real environmental threats and instead package it as a series of breathtaking vistas and adorable-looking animals. Manufacturing National Park Nature demonstrates that popular forms of picturing nature can have ecological implications that extend far beyond the frame of the image.

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Surveyors of Empire: Samuel Holland, J.F.W. Des Barres, and the Making of The Atlantic Neptune
Stephen J. Hornsby

Using research from both sides of the Atlantic, Stephen Hornsby examines the development of British military cartography in North America during and after the Seven Years War, as well as advancements in military and scientific equipment used in surveying. At the same time, he follows the land speculation of two leading surveyors, Samuel Holland and J.F.W. Des Barres, and the publication history of The Atlantic Neptune. Richly illustrated with images from The Atlantic Neptune and earlier maps, Surveyors of Empire is an insightful account of the relationship between science and imperialism, and the British shaping of the Atlantic world.

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Pioneers of the Pacific Coast: A Chronicle of Sea Rovers and Fur Hunters
Agnes C. Laut

In the early 16th century, the first exploratory ships arrived on the Pacific Coast of North America. These rovers were seeking gold and silver, fur pelts, a safe passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and above all, adventure. Though many of the voyagers didn't survive the dangerous sea crossings or the perils that awaited them on land, their stories live on in Pioneers of the Pacific Coast. Agnes C. Laut chronicles long-forgotten true stories packed with hazards and surprise. In the 1500s, The Golden Hind breaks into the Pacific Ocean, despite harsh warnings from the Spaniards that it was a "closed sea." Years later, the Russian explorer Vitus Bering and his crew are stranded on an island when their ship is caught in a storm. In the 17th century, British Captain Vancouver meets with Spanish Captain Quadra at Nootka Sound to decide who owns the Pacific Coast. All these explorers risked their lives to find out whether this perilous land was worthy of settlement.

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The Great White Bear: A Natural and Unnatural History of the Polar Bear
Kieran Mulvaney

Polar bears are creatures of paradox: They are white bears whose skin is black; massive predators who can walk almost silently. Fully grown they can measure 10 feet and weigh close to 2,000 pounds, but at birth they are just 20 ounces. Human encounters with these legendary beasts are cause for both excitement and apprehension. Tales throughout history describe the ferocity of polar bear attacks on humans, but human hunting of polar bears has exacted a far larger toll, obliging Arctic nations to try to protect their region's iconic species before it's too late. Through a blend of history, both natural and human, through myth and reality and observations both personal and scientific, Kieran Mulvaney masterfully provides a context for readers to consider the polar bear, its history, its life, and its uncertain fate.

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The Hero and the Historians: Historiography and the Uses of Jacques Cartier
Alan Gordon

Historians have long engaged in passionate debate about collective memory and national identity. Alan Gordon focuses on one national hero — Jacques Cartier — to explore how notions about the past have been passed from generation to generation in English- and French-speaking Canada and used to present particular ideas about the world. Nineteenth-century celebrations of Cartier reflected a new understanding of history that accompanied the arrival of modernity in North America. This sensibility, in turn, influenced the political and cultural currents of nation building in Canada. Cartier may have been a point of contact between English and French Canada, but the nature of that contact, as Gordon shows, had profound limitations.

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