Three Faces of Vancouver - The Book

174 pages of striking colour photographs and maps, highlighting attractions and neighbourhoods of special interest. Also related is a detailed history of the Vancouver Region with a focus on Vancouver’s First Nations’, European and Asian history.

Features in the book include:

A Walking Tour of Vancouver: Outlying neighbourhoods are provided with Skytrain and bus directions.

Mountains and Beaches: Photographs and descriptions of Vancouver’s world-famous natural setting.

Temples of Vancouver: A 38 page pictorial of Vancouver’s most interesting temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras and synagogues, reflecting Vancouver’s strong Asian connections as well as its First Nations and European traditions. Vancouver’s high multicultural profile with North America’s closest connections to Asia has led to the building of one of the most interesting and diverse collections of religious buildings in the world.

First Nations and Vancouver: A photographic overview of Vancouver’s First Nations culture as well as a historical account of ancient Coast Salish traditions in the Vancouver area. In recent years, detailed Coast Salish oral history in the Fraser Valley has been corroborated and dated by geologists. This has established the region’s cultural record as one of the oldest in the world, dating back over 10,000 years. The fact that local history in the Vancouver area goes back much farther than that of the Ancient Egyptians is still not generally known by the Vancouver public.

European History of Vancouver: A general overview of European history in the Vancouver region. It is not fully appreciated that Vancouver was the early recipient of many inspired innovations from Victorian Britain. As a result, the city has been able to develop along a more human scale with a sensitive appreciation for its natural setting. Having set this tone, the city has avoided much of the desecration that has affected other urban centres in North America in the automobile age.

Vancouver’s Asian History: This book looks at historical references suggesting contacts between British Columbia and China as early as 458 AD. The Chinese took part in the founding of what are considered the first European settlements on Vancouver Harbour and there has been a strong Asian presence ever since. Both the Chinese Revolution and the Indian Independence Movement were strongly influenced by events in Vancouver. The fact is that Vancouver’s Asian history is both interesting and compelling.

Vancouver’s Future Face: A look at Vancouver’s livability and future sustainability. In many ways, Vancouver is one of the most advanced cities in North America in terms of compact city development, energy efficiency and urban livability. However, much of the city’s current growth is still at the low-density scale of the automobile which is entirely dependent on cheap petroleum and natural gas. This book assesses the region’s past history, its present unsustainable trends and looks seriously at the possibility of reestablishing sustainable, regional self-sufficiency. This is timely given present forecasts of fast-depleting world, petroleum reserves and global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels.