Spring has arrived and with it the latest issue of Geist magazine (No.96).

My regular column takes a look at John Ralston Saul's book on Aboriginal rights, The Comeback. Saul thinks that Aboriginal people in Canada have made enormous strides in reversing years of population...

It is surprising how you can live in a community for many years and still know so little about its history.

I am talking about myself here.

I've lived in North Vancouver for 28 years, not ten minutes from the famed architect Fred Hollingsworth who died ten days ago at the age of 98, yet until quite recently I was unaware of the role Hollingsworth...

If you are close to North Vancouver and looking for a good time this Wednesday, don't forget "Secrets, Booze and Rebellion," an evening of "hidden history" featuring myself, Eve Lazarus and Aaron Chapman at the Lynn Valley Library. Fun starts at 7 p.m.

And just to show that the subject of prohibition (the topic of my latest book) is forever relevant, I learn that a small distiller in Ontario is now marketing...

On Wednesday evening, April 15, I will be joining Eve Lazarus and Aaron Chapman at the Lynn Valley library in North Vancouver to talk about "Secrets, Booze and Rebellion: Vancouver's Darker History."

Eve is the author of several books about the built heritage of the Lower Mainland. Aaron has written books about Vancouver's infamous Penthouse nightclub and the Commodore Ballroom...

I've just been reading a terrific book, The Last Asylum by Barbara Taylor. By terrific I don't mean enjoyable. Quite the opposite. The book chronicles Taylor's years of psychological distress and collapse into complete mental breakdown. It is very tough to read. Still, terrific.

Taylor is an historian, born and raised in Saskatchewan, who moved to London when she was 21 years old. It is there that the events she describes take place. The book is an account of her...