When the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) built through the Rockies in 1884 it laid track straight down the west slope of Kicking Horse Pass. Dropping 1,140 feet in 7.1 railway miles, this section of railway was a construction worker’s horror and a railroader’s nightmare that soon became known as the Big Hill. Intended to be temporary, the 4.5 percent grade, more than 3 miles long, saw use for 25 years until completion of the Spiral Tunnels in 1909. The two tunnels – unique in North America – loop over themselves, doubling the length of track and halving the grade. Incorporating more than 100 photographs, The Spiral Tunnels and the Big Hill – An Illustrated Railway History describes the construction of the CPR and recounts the tales of daring, defiance, and disaster on the second-steepest mainline track ever operated in North America. Maps and diagrams reveal how the Spiral Tunnels create a safer grade for trains. The text provides up-to-date descriptions of today’s locomotives and explains the many challenges of operating trains on mountain grades. A Canadian bestseller for three decades, this revised edition will be informative reading for railfans, for travellers in the Rockies, and for those with an interest in Canadian history.

Bear Tales and Deer Trails is a collection of hunting stories that take you into the heart of the Tongass National Forest. Come along with Mike and his hunting partners as they stalk bears and deer for food as part of their subsistence lifestyle. Each chapter begins a new adventure in the bays, muskegs and mountains of Southeast Alaska. The stories are full of interesting characters, vivid descriptions of the landscape and a look into a disappearing way of life. You will find information about guns, hunting techniques and lore about the animals themselves. The stories are true and drawn from the authors personal experiences. This is the Tongass when wild was still part of wilderness!

Anthropologist Robert Jarvenpa examines how the energy and extraction industries in Canada's subarctic north threatens destruction of traditional southern Denesuliné cultural practices, land, and sovereignty near the Churchill River headwaters in northern Saskatchewan.