Bob Lenarduzzi: A Canadian Soccer Story by Bob Lenarduzzi and Jim Taylor. (Harbour Publishing, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Bob Lenarduzzi: A Canadian Soccer Story

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Once again, Jim Taylor joins me. The legendary sports writer is out with a new book. He co-wrote Bob Lenarduzzi: A Canadian Soccer Story, with you guessed it, Bob Lenarduzzi. We get a great view on soccer, Canadian soccer, Mr. Lenarduzzi’s career on and off the field, and stories of the many colourful characters encountered along the way. Bob Lenarduzzi was a successful soccer player, winning a North American Soccer League Championship with the Whitecaps, he coached the Vancouver 86ers, and is now president of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the seventeenth club in Major League Soccer. Jim Taylor was around for a lot of those days. Lenarduzzi was 19 when they met. He covered him and wrote about his exploits in his noted columns in papers here and across the country. We’ll get Jim to tell us about this book, which is from Harbour Publishing, why we should read it, and what it was like looking back with Lenarduzzi. Jim Taylor has written thousands of columns, he’s done three times as many radio broadcasts and written over a dozen books. He’s in the CFL and BC Sports Halls of Fame, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Sports Media Canada. Last year he received the Bruce Hutchison Award from the Jack Webster Foundation. We could go on with the superlatives. He’s always a welcome guest on this program. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Jim Taylor; Good morning, Mr. Taylor.

Here’s Mike: And Junkyard Granny, Whistling Bernie Smith, the Robertson Screwdriver, Pancakes & Eternal Truth by Mike McCardell. (Harbour Publishing, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Here’s Mike

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

For the fifth year now, around this time of year, just before Christmas, I get to talk to the great Mike McCardell. It might be an overstatement to call him ‘great,’ but it’s not. He happens to have a book out around this time, but he’s always welcome on this program. He’s the marvellous storyteller seen at the end of Global’s News Hour. He’s out now with his seventh book, again a wonderful collection of stories we’ve seen on television, as well as anecdotes he’s collected over his many years of reporting, meeting the colourful, interesting, fascinating people throughout the city and its environs. The book is called Here’s Mike: And Junkyard Granny, Whistling Bernie Smith, the Robertson Screwdriver, Pancakes & Eternal Truth. It’s from Harbour Publishing, and if you buy the book before 29 February 2012, partial proceeds will go to Variety—The Children’s Charity. These books of Mike, all bestsellers, have raised over $75,000 for Variety. www.globaltvbc.com is the website for Mike’s pieces. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Mike McCardell; Good morning, Mr. McCardell.

A Hard Man to Beat: The Story of Bill White by Howard White. (Harbour Publishing, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: A Hard Man to Beat

The Sunshine Coast: From Gibsons to Powell River by Howard White, with photography by Dean van’t Schip. (Harbour Publishing, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Sunshine Coast

The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver by Chuck Davis. (Harbour Publishing, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Howard White joins me again. We’re going to talk books with Howard, which is hardly a big surprise, as he’s an accomplished and prize winning author in his own right, as well as, with Mary White, he operates Harbour Publishing. We’ll talk about at least three books now, two that Mr. White has written and that have been re-released with new editions, and a third which he’s published, one we’ve already talked about on the program this past week with Allen Garr, and one that Howard and I spoke about a year ago on the death of the historian Chuck Davis. That book, The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver has just been released, and it’s a very fine achievement. There’s a book launch this Tuesday, 06 December 2011 at the Vancouver Public Library. A book that Howard White wrote in 1983 has recently been reissued as part of the Vancouver 125 Legacy Books series. Brad Cran was on the program a couple of months ago to talk about the series, and Howard’s A Hard Man to Beat is one of those books. It’s an oral history that Howard put together with Bill White, a labour leader, historian, shipyard worker, and from this book, in his own voice, a hell of a raconteur. Bill White was a labour leader in the 1940s and ‘50s when shipbuilding was a booming industry on this coast. The book is a history of those times. The other book we’ll discuss is Howard’s second edition of The Sunshine Coast. It’s a very handsome book that’ll make any coffee table look smart what with its wonderful photographs of the scenic 100-mile stretch of BC’s waterfront from Howe Sound to Desolation Sound, with Gibsons in the south and Powell River in the north. Dean van’t Schip does the photography for this revised edition. A Hard Man to Beat: The Story of Bill White, and The Sunshine Coast: From Gibsons to Powell River are from Harbour Publishing, who also publish The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver. www.harbourpublishing.com is the website for more. In Madeira Park, on BC’s Sunshine Coast, this day, please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Howard White; Good morning, Mr. White.

The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver by Chuck Davis. (Harbour Publishing, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Last year when the author and historian Chuck Davis died, I hosted a bit of a tribute program with guests Alan Twigg, Sam Sullivan, and David Berner. Harbour Publishing’s Howard White was also on, and we talked about this book that Davis was working on, and about the work that White along with so many others were doing to help get the thing published. Well, that book is out now, and like Chuck Davis, it’s ‘fun, fat, and full of facts.’ The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver is a very fine achievement. After getting it a few weeks ago, I haven’t stopped going to it, looking at it, flipping through it, spending hours at a time reading up on the stories and anecdotes contained therein. It’s a book that many people will be looking at literally the rest of their life. It’s a towering achievement. Joining me now to talk about the book is someone who was instrumental in getting it to press, Chuck’s friend, the journalist Allen Garr. There will be a public book launch Tuesday, 06 December 2011 at the Vancouver Public Library, that’s at 7.00pm. Allen Garr’s column is read weekly in the Vancouver Courier, and he was last on during his campaign for a seat on the Vancity board. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Allen Garr; Good morning, Mr. Garr.

British Columbia’s Magnificent Parks: The First 100 Years by James D. Anderson. (Harbour Publishing, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: British Columbia’s Magnificent Parks

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

This past summer a new book was published called British Columbia’s Magnificent Parks: The First 100 Years. Its author, James D. Anderson joins me now. The book is a handsome coffee table book, generous in its number of photographs and authoritative in its documenting of the BC park system, its champions, goals and the wilderness that’s protected therein. James Anderson was a park planner with the BC Parks Branch for over thirty years, and saw firsthand some of the most dramatic growth in the system. The book is from Harbour Publishing. Stephen Hume contributes the foreword. In Victoria this day, please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, James Anderson; Good morning, Mr. Anderson.

Raincoast Chronicles 21: West Coast Wrecks and Other Maritime Tales by Rick James. (Harbour Publishing, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Raincoast Chronicles 21: West Coast Wrecks and Other Maritime Tales

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

A new issue of Raincoast Chronicles is out, the 21st: West Coast Wrecks and Other Maritime Tales. Its author Rick James joins me now. He is a writer, maritime historian, photographer and field archaeologist. In this book you’ll have many stories collected over the years about some of the fascinating and interesting wrecks found along our coast. There are many maritime stories and shipwreck lore in this book. We’ll get Mr. James to share some now, and tell us about some of the colourful people found in this book. Over the years, Rick James’s writing has appeared in The Beaver, The Sea Chest: Journal of the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, and the Western Mariner. He is the author of the Under Water Archaeological Society of BC’s Ghost Ships of Royston, and co-author of Historic Shipwrecks of BC’s Central Coast, Historic Shipwrecks of the Sunshine Coast, and The Comox Valley. Raincoast Chronicles 21: West Coast Wrecks and Other Maritime Tales is from Harbour Publishing. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Rick James; Good morning, Mr. James.

Rumble Seat: A Victorian Childhood Remembered by Helen Piddington. (Harbour Publishing, 2010) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Rumble Seat

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at THECOMMENTARY.CA.

In 1924 around Christmas Major Arthur Grosvenor Piddington buys a house in the Victoria, BC suburb of Esquimalt for him and his family. Seven years later, my guest now, Helen Piddington is born, the youngest of nine children. In a new book, Rumble Seat: A Victorian Childhood Remembered, she recounts her fascinating, colourful childhood. The book is a charming look at an interesting family, whose ways and experience provide some instruction as to how to keep house, and more. Helen’s mother is thought of as the ‘brain of the family,’ while her father, ‘the passion.’ With great detail, in over 100 pieces of memory, Helen Piddington captivates with her stories, and gives us these great glimpses into a time gone by. What’s kept alive in this book, has been described as a ‘valuable addition to the social history of British Columbia.’ Rumble Seat is from Harbour Publishing. Helen Piddington is a renowned printmaker and artist. Her previous book was The Inlet. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program from Loughborough Inlet, Helen Piddington; Good morning, Ms. Piddington.

Everything Works by Mike McCardell. (Harbour Publishing, 2010) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Everything Works

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at THECOMMENTARY.CA.

It’s always delightful to have Mike McCardell on this program. He’s got a new book out, Everything Works. It’s a collection of pieces like the ones he presents at the end of the top rated News Hour on Global BC. After the scandals, political intrigue, and crime stories they present on their broadcast, Mr. McCardell comes on at the end with his light-hearted, often amusing, sometimes heart-rending pieces that more often than not reminds us that life’s pretty good, and yes, everything works. The book is published by Harbour. www.globaltvbc.com is the website where you can see a lot of Mike’s pieces. As always, proceeds from sales of these books will go to the Variety Club. His five previous books have raised some $70,000 for Variety previously. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Mike McCardell; Good morning, Mr. McCardell.

A Walk with the Rainy Sisters: In Praise of British Columbia’s Places by Stephen Hume. (Harbour Publishing, 2010) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: A Walk with the Rainy Sisters

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at THECOMMENTARY.CA.

Stephen Hume joins me again. He has a new book out, A Walk with the Rainy Sisters: In Praise of British Columbia’s Places. It’s a collection of wonderful essays that eloquently describe some timeless places, some remarkable people, all reminding us of what’s great about this province. The book is at once grand, in how it describes some larger than life people and places, but also intimate in parts where it talks about the beauty of some places that we’re automatically transported to thanks to the author’s eloquence, and deep love for this part of the world. It’s a great book, one that’s been described elsewhere as ‘the best summation of life in British Columbia ever published.’ Stephen Hume is an award-winning journalist, who for more than 20 years now has been a columnist and senior writer at the Vancouver Sun. He’s won many awards for his journalism and writing. His previous book was the wonderful, Simon Fraser: In Search of Modern British Columbia. This new book, already a bestseller, is from Harbour Publishing. Mr. Hume will be speaking next Wednesday night, 15 December 2010 at the Vancouver Public Library at 7.00pm. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Stephen Hume; Good morning, Mr. Hume.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line in Vancouver, at THECOMMENTARY.CA.

The inimitable historian and author Chuck Davis died this past Saturday. He was 75. He had battled cancer some years ago, but unfortunately it came back. Seven weeks ago, on the stage of the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, at Sam Sullivan’s Public Salon, Davis announced he had weeks to live. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Davis professed his love for Vancouver and its surrounding area, how much he loved chronicling it, and how he needed help in getting his last book, the capstone of his writing career, The History of Metropolitan Vancouver, published.

It’s his love of Vancouver and its history that we remember and mourn now. His legendary The Vancouver Book was published in 1976, and its follow-up, The Greater Vancouver Book was published in 1997. A book of his, I grew up loving, was his history of radio station CKNW, Top Dog!, which was published in 1993. You see his enthusiasm and love for history in those books, as well as at his robust and indispensible website, www.vancouverhistory.ca. Something worth listening to is the interview Davis gave the broadcaster Mike Cleaver, which recounts his career and more. You can find that on Jack Bennest’s website, www.bcradiohistory.com.

This program now will look at Davis’s life and legacy, with my guests: former mayor Sam Sullivan; author and BC Bookworld publisher, Alan Twigg; Harbour Publishing’s Howard White; and the broadcaster and commentator David Berner.

Chuck Davis, who last month received the George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award for his writing, leaves behind a body of work, unmatched and unrivalled. They not only contain facts and figures about this town and its people, but they also capture a spirit and passion for Vancouver that we haven’t seen from historians before or since.

I mentioned Sam Sullivan’s public salon earlier, and I’m very pleased now to have on the program, the former mayor of the City of Vancouver, Sam Sullivan. Sam, hello.