Home Truths: Highlights from BC History
Richard Mackie and Graeme Wynn

"History in BC grows profusely and luxuriantly, but with odd undergrowth," observed historian J.M.S. Careless many years ago. This claim is fully borne out by this impressive anthology of some of the province's most distinguished historians, geographers, and writers gleaned from over forty years of British Columbia's leading scholarly journal, BC Studies.

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A History of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic to 1818
Shannon Ryan

The waters off Newfoundland, in the North Atlantic, held the world's most abundant supply of codfish, which, when discovered, was in great demand. Unlike the fur trade, the production of codfish did not require year-round residence but it did require numerous men for the fishing season. This successful English-Newfoundland migratory fishery evolved into an exclusively shore-based, but still migratory, fishery that led to the formation of a formal colony by 1818. Shannon Ryan offers this general history as an introduction to early Newfoundland. The economy and social, military, and political issues are dealt with in a straightforward narrative that will appeal to general readers as well as students of Newfoundland and Labrador history.

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End of the Line: The 1857 Train Wreck at the Desjardins Canal Bridge
Don McIver

In 1857, the Desjardins Canal bridge collapsed under a Toronto-to-Hamilton train, creating one of the worst railway wrecks in North American history. Woven into the tragic events of that cold March evening are a cross-section of pre-Confederation Canadians whose lives contrasted sharply with the dour stereotypical view of pioneering Canada. End of the Line portrays the personalities of these global travellers, burgeoning industrialists, and simple railway servants -- all connected by the common thread of catastrophe. Particular attention is focused on the little-known life of Samuel Zimmerman - the irrepressible contractor who died in the accident. Captured throughout is the spirit of economic venture infecting the mood of the continent.

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Game Plan: A Social History of Sport in Alberta
Karen L. Wall

How deep is the importance and influence of organized sports in Alberta? Discover key episodes and players in the history of Alberta?s organized sports and read how sport shaped the lives of individuals as well as of communities of indigenous people, settlers, and immigrants. Read new perspectives on well-known sports stories along with tales of lesser-known games that remained on the margins of most histories for reasons of race, class, and gender. Whether a spectator, supporter, scholar, or fan, readers will be informed and delighted by the research contained in this sport history.

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Inventing Academic Freedom: The 1968 Strax Affair at the University of New Brunswick
Peter C. Kent

In an era of international political ferment, a young Jewish-American professor in the quiet town of Fredericton, New Brunswick sparked a controversy that established the principles of academic freedom on Canadian campuses. Norman Strax didn't dress like other faculty members, he drove a funny car, and he didn't socialize much with his colleagues. The university president, Colin Mackay, was a young scion of the local establishment who ran the university as if it belonged to him. When Strax and some students protested a new library regulation, Colin Mackay abruptly suspended Strax from his teaching position. A sit-in followed, and the university dragged Strax into court. Before long, the provincial government and the judiciary were involved. So were university professors across Canada. In the end, the Strax Affair was the catalyst for a new approach to governance at Canadian universities and was key to establishing the principles of academic freedom.

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