The Prairie Provinces cover Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Bill Gallaher’s bestselling novel The Journey follows a group of three adventurous Overlanders—two young men and one remarkable woman—as they travel west in 1862, from the Manitoba prairies to the goldfields of the Cariboo. With his gift for storytelling, Gallaher brings this intriguing era to the page as he vividly recounts the overland trek of the spirited Catherine Schubert, who made the trip in an undetected state of pregnancy; James Sellar, a combative young man of rigid determination; and Thomas McMicking, the visionary captain of the often unruly company. Reprinted with an appealing new look, this popular novel is an engaging and moving tribute to a band of heroic pioneers. “Rich in detail . . . A highly readable account of one of the most interesting, and most important, chapters in BC’s history.”—Times Colonist “A captivating account of memorable heroic characters . . . a polished historical reconstruction.”—Kamloops Daily News

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Named Best Book of the Year by the Globe and Mail, History Today and The Hill Times A gripping and eye-opening account of the building of the engineering triumph that created a nation: the Canadian Pacific Railway The sharp decline of the demand for fur in the late nineteenth century could have spelled economic disaster for the venerable Hudson’s Bay Company, but an idea emerged in political and business circles in Ottawa and Montreal to connect the disparate British colonies. With over 3,000 kilometres of track, much of it driven through wildly inhospitable terrain, the Canadian Pacific Railway would be the longest railway in the world and the most difficult to build. Its construction was the defining event of its era and a catalyst for powerful global forces. The times were marked by greed, hubris, blatant empire building, oppression, corruption and theft. They were good for some, hard for most, disastrous for others. The CPR enabled a new country, but it came at a terrible price. In Dominion, Stephen R. Bown widens our view of the past to include the adventures and hardships of explorers and surveyors, the resistance of Indigenous peoples, and the terrific and horrific work of many thousands of labourers. His portrayal of the powerful forces that were moulding the world during this time provides a revelatory new picture of modern Canada’s creation as an independent state.

The most honored book ever released by the University of Illinois Press, The Plains Across was the result of more than a decade's work by its author. Here, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Oregon Trail, is a paperback reissue that includes the notes, bibliography, and illustrations contained in the 1979 cloth edition.

Overlanders is a fascinating, meticulously researched account of a western odyssey for gold, a great adventure story that was a pivotal experience in the history and development of Canada. In the late 1850s and early 1860s thousands of people from around the globe were rushing to the rivers and creeks of British Columbia in response to one of the greatest gold discoveries in the world's history. In eastern Canada and the northern United States groups of men and a few women chose not to follow the normal sea routes but to go overland on unexplored and undeveloped trails. They formed a variety of disparate groups, large and small, fit, experienced, weak, young, old, children, leaders and followers. Their route, initially chosen to save money, resulted in the opening of the northern continent's vast interior. Richard Thomas Wright tells the epic talc of the cross-Canada treks for gold. 1858-1862, following an unexplored overland route across North America to the goldfields of British Columbia. This is the updated story of that amazing adventure, with a new chapter and new photos.

"Covering the United States and Canada [with their possessions and neighbors] and containing the biographical and literary data of living authors whose birth or activities connect them with the continent of North America, with a press section devoted to journalists and magazine writers" (varies slightly).

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.

Spurred on by reports of gold in the Cariboo, adventurers from all over the world descended on British Columbia in the mid-1800s. Among them were ambitious easterners who accepted the challenge of the shorter but more arduous overland route across the prairies and the Rockies. One such man determined to find his fortune in the West was Thomas McMicking -- destined to lead the largest and best organized group of 'Overlanders' into British Columbia. His record of their epic journey is a valuable historical document that possesses the universal appeal of an adventure story. McMicking presents a vivid image of the hardships of the overland route, the dangers, both real and imagined -- like the apparently threatening Plains Indians who turned out to be 'our best friends' -- facts about important officials and settlements, and scientific observations of the physical environment. But this is also a very human document that describes a journey of self- discovery revealing a sensitive man's encounter with a bountiful and beautiful yet hostile and alien land.