Originally published as history columns for The Orca, an online news outlet, author Daniel Marshall has gathered these articles together in what may be the most comprehensive history of British Columbia published yet. Unique in how it considers north-south settler development, it points out how BC struck a different chord than its southern neighbours, particularly in the way it opened its doors to Blacks, who were well received here in comparison to the ways they were ostracized in California and Oregon.

Marshall also offers a better balance than many historians in the ways he presents settlements and treaties made with Indigenous Peoples. He is respectful of their many languages and writes about the important role played by interpreters who served to ease communications between settlers and those who’d been here since time immemorial. He takes us through the Gold Rush days and pulls us along to reports on current climate change and wildfires. He closes with a chapter on truth and reconciliation.

Cautions / Content Warnings: As with all accounts written from a settler’s perspective, there are oversights and omissions regarding dealings with Indigenous people.
Other End Matter: Appendix listing names of interpreters, illustration credits
Images: B&W photographs, B&W illustrations, maps
Bibliography: Yes
Index: Yes

Evaluator: Heidi G., K-12 Educator, BC Books for Schools

A fifth-generation British Columbian, Daniel Marshall is an author, professor, curator, documentarian, and researcher focusing on untold stories of BC’s rich history. He is a recognized leader and award-winning researcher on historic Indigenous-Newcomer relations, and their evolution and implications on Aboriginal rights today. His award-winning documentary, Canyon War: The Untold Story, aired on PBS, Knowledge Network, and Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN).

His previous books include the multi-award-winning Claiming the Land: British Columbia and the Making of a New El Dorado (Ronsdale Press) and Those Who Fell from the Sky: A History of the Cowichan Peoples (Cowichan Tribes).

Daniel Marshall's profile page

BC Bestseller

Winner: Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society "About BC" Award

"An engaging story teller with a gift for digging up long-hidden stories." - BC BookWorld

"Riveting! Daniel Marshall, a master storyteller and an award-winning historian, spent years travelling the remote trails of BC's history in search of stories. Some will make you laugh; some will make you cry; and some will make you angry. Guaranteed that when you start reading you won't quit and you will emerge with a new, and often unsettling, view of this place known today as British Columbia.'" - Wendy Wickwire, author of the multi-award-wining At the Bridge: James Teit and an Anthropology of Belonging

"A collection of true stories written by a serious historian who also happens to be a gifted storyteller. The British Columbia that emerges in these pages is revealed in vivid accounts of the most dramatic moments in B.C.'s history and forgotten moments that made all the difference in the world. Read this book and you will never think about British Columbia the same way again." - Terry Glavin, journalist, award-winning author and National Post columnist

"A generous, accessible, intimate, and strikingly original collection of topical and informative vignettes. Marshall writes with respect, clarity, and authority. Required reading for anyone interested in where we came from - and where we are going." - Richard Mackie, publisher, The British Columbia Review

"Daniel Marshall possesses some sort of literary magic he uses to bring us back to the early days of our province and explain how and why the most seldom-told stories from the time are still relevant and important in the present day. Everyone in B.C. should read this book." - Bob Kronbauer, BC journalist, storyteller and founder of Vancouver Is Awesome