I got my start as a historical researcher studying the records of 18th-century fur traders written by candlelight with a quill pen in frozen trading posts on the shores of Hudson Bay.

So when the folks at The Ormsby Review invited me to review a new history of the Hudson Bay Company, naturally I agreed. The result has just been posted and can be found...

I will be speaking to the Vancouver Historical Society about my new book next Thursday, January 27, at 7 p.m. It is a Zoom event. If you are not a member of the society and wish to listen in, here's how.

Meanwhile, the admirable news website The Tyee has...

I've been reading Stendahl to start the new year, Scarlet and Black. No particular reason. I've always wanted to and suddenly the opportunity presented itself.

My local coffee shop (Brazza on Lonsdale Ave. in North Vancouver) added a "lending library" during a recent renovation. Take one, leave one. I was browsing through the books on offer and there was Stendahl. So I took.

After many (and I mean many) years, the new Museum of North Vancouver has opened near the bottom of Lonsdale Avenue next door to the Shipyards district.

I have not had a chance to visit yet, but plan to do so over the holiday. I urge you to do the same, if for no other reason than to see the refurbished streetcar, full-size, planted in the museum's lobby. But there is much else to see and...

The other day I had an extended conversation with podcaster Sean Graham about the new book. We talked about some of the images outsiders have of Vancouver and some of the themes which are discussed in the book.

If you are interested in listening to that chat, Sean has posted it on his History Slam podcoast at the Active History website...