Bounty for armchair travellers

Linda Bates
Vancouver Sun
Saturday, December 08, 2007

Last but not least is the beauty in our own backyard, as presented in Enchanted Isles, The Southern Gulf Islands, by David A.E. Spalding and Kevin Oke (Harbour Publishing, $34.95. Although Oke’s photos are lovely, this isn’t just a picture book. There’s plenty of history provided by Spalding, who has published 13 previous books, many on western Canada. A quick look at the section on Saltspring Island provides not only information on its multicultural settlers, including blacks from the U.S., but also this — did you know that Saltspring has an Eco-Home tour and a sustainable building forum? And that Paul and Becky Niedziels insulated the roof of their rammed earth house with a load of recycled blue jeans?

The book covers islands from Gabriola at the North to D’Arcy at the south.