Bush Telegraph: Discovering the Pacific Province

British Columbia is Canada's extreme province, holding all the country's records for low and high, wet and dry, right and left. It imprints itself strongly on all who pass through, yet it remains difficult to describe and even more difficult to understand.

In his ten years as senior feature writer and columnist for the Vancouver Sun, Stephen Hume has roamed all over BC's diverse regions. He writes of pocket deserts and rain forests; of Tin Hats and Cowichan sweaters; of big cedars, skunk cabbage, fog and forest fires; of the economic value of snow; of wild weather systems known as marine bombs and beer parlour legends that won't die. Here is the country of dreams and miracles occupied by aboriginal peoples and the modern reality of endangered ecosystems. From the fate of Walhachin, the settlement that was to be a western Eden but fell victim to the carnage of World War I, to the mythical reef where the Haida say time began, this thoughtful and lyrically written collection seeks to make sense of the BC enigma by exploring the fabulous contrasts inherent in the province's landscapes and the people who occupy them.

Stephen Hume presents a dynamic collection of stories that capture the complex character of BC's geography, history, and people.