In this lavishly illustrated new book, the author of Early Life in Upper Canada and other famous histories of pioneer days, relates the story of the Canadian farm and farmer from the primitive to the machine age. Farm life and farm processes are pictured in fascinating detail, and Mr. Guillet quotes generously from books, newspapers, letters and hitherto unpublished archives material, using the words of those who actually witnessed the life of other days–the pioneers themselves, or the more observant of the numerous travellers who visited Canada during the period. The 450 illustrations contained in the two volumes of this work include many never before reproduced. A detailed list of contents and a full index enable the reader to find readily any topic of pioneer life to which he wishes to refer.

From the portage trails snaking their way through the wilderness to superhighways carrying the raw materials and produce of an industrial nation, Canada's roads have had a romantic but long-neglected history. For the first time their development is described in this handsomely illustrated volume by a distinguished Canadian historian. Mr. Guillet has written a book which is often humorous and always human, to be enjoyed by readers of many ages. It contains nearly two hundred sketches, engravings, paintings, and photographs, most of them contemporary, gathered from archives and libraries across the country and well displayed in the specially chosen large format. Few are generally available elsewhere. For school and public libraries, as well as the general reader, this book documents a fascinating aspect of Canada's social history.

Imagine obtaining one hundred and sixty acres of land for FREE! Then comes the real payment: the sweat and toil of living in a remote wilderness and clearing a landscape where the stumps left behind are so large and so numerous the best bet is to use dynamite to remove them. Beginning in 1859 such homesteading typified the arrival of white settlers in British Columbia. The Land Act set out rules by which British subjects could, for agricultural purposes only, pre-empt land. Along the Upper Sunshine Coast, of those who took up the challenge, only some succeeded in carving a life out of this wild land, while many failed. Through prodigious research and the careful cultivation of interviews, Barbara Ann Lambert tells the stories of those resourceful arrivals. Employing the day journals of homesteaders and interviews with their descendants, Lambert conveys the rich history of the Sunshine Coast. From Saltery Bay to Lund, she evokes the struggles and triumphs of those who once lived in this place Lambert calls “paradise”.