Canada by Lonely Planet book review

Title:

Canada, 10th edition
(Lonely Planet, 2008) ISBN 978-1741045710 1741045711

Theme:

Canada, at 10 million sq. km. in size, is the second largest country in the world. Lonely Planet's Canada is also big, with 912 pages. The 1.25 inch- (3.5 cm)-thick softcover guide book introduces readers to Canada's population of 33 million people, their country and culture.

Sample Items:

Sidebars explain things Canadian:

Aboriginal Tourism—With 612 Aboriginal bands and 2,600 First Nations reserves across the country, First Nations tourism employs more than 10,000 people in Canada. Many First Nations people open their homes to visitors and teach native skills like how to paddle a canoe. During homestays in the far north, visitors can taste maktaaq (whale blubber), smoked whitefish and caribou stew, hike in Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, kayak at Pond Inlet and make moccasins at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.

The Underground Railroad—Southwestern Ontario has many sites associated with the secret network of people who helped slaves escape from the US to Canada before the American Civil War, e.g., Uncle Tom's cabin in Dresden. An estimated 40,000 people escaped by the Underground Railroad.

Moose Facts—Did you know that moose were imported into Newfoundland in 1904 and now number over 120,000? This St. John's sidebar explains that moose eat 22 kilos of vegetation daily and Newfoundlanders eat 22,000 moose each year.

Klondike Gold Rush—The Yukon gold fields attracted over 40,000 prospectors in 1897. Many sourdoughs lost their lives traveling overland from Skagway to Dawson City. This sidebar describes the Gold Rush Trail (Klondike Highway) from Skagway to Whitehorse and Minto. From here, visitors paddle the Yukon River to follow the path of the prospectors.

Unique Canadian celebrations—This sidebar describes the Canadian national celebrations of National Flag Day, Victoria Day, Aboriginal Day, Canada Day and Thanksgiving.

Poutine—This French-Canadian food is most popular in Quebec. Its calories come from French fries covered with cheese curds and gravy plus toppings like ground beef and green peppers.

Notable Elements:

The Language section explains the differences between Canadian French and European French.

A glossary defines Canadian words like Cow Town (a nickname for Calgary), gite du passant (bed and breakfast or B&B in Quebec), screech (a strong rum from Newfoundland) and toonie (a slang name for the Canadian two-dollar coin).

Local Voice sidebars interview residents, such as a lighthouse keeper on Machias/Seal Island, the last manned station in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick.

Top Five sidebars describe highlights like The Top Five Hikes in Algonquin Park, Ontario (Booth's Rock, Centennial Ridges, Lookout Trail, Mizzy Lake and Track & Tower).

The Lonely Planet Canada culture chapter is filled with interesting facts. For example, it explains that the most common family name in Canada is Tremblay (one in 50 Quebecers). It also provides useful websites such as CanadaCool.com and CanadianEncyclopedia.ca.

The Itineraries chapter describes several tours of Canada, ranging from the classic (Toronto and Niagara Falls to Quebec City) to the Cabot Trail (from Halifax to St. Ann's Loop). Specialty Canadian tours focus on food, adventure, history and ecotourism.

Tone / Style:

Canada is well-organized by province, region and city. Numerous sidebars provide explanations and interesting details. For example, a sidebar describes the top five free things to see in Quebec City (the farmers' market in the old port, Erico Chocolate Museum, a doll hospital, the Museum of Civilization and Fou-Bar for Tuesday-night jazz).

An insert on Canada's National Parks, discusses backpacking, rock climbing, park itineraries and websites. Sidebars feature Top Five Lesser Known Canadian Parks, Top Five Parks for History and Top Five Parks for Scenery.

Visuals:

Small color images depict highlights like whale-watching in Newfoundland and Louisbourg National Historic Site in Nova Scotia. Canada's National Parks section has images of Auyuittuq National Park, Yoho and other Canadian National Parks.

A colored relief map locates attractions like Iles de la Madeleine and Grand Manan Island. B&W maps of Canadian cities and regions have distance scales in kilometers and miles and symbols for restaurants, hotels, attractions, transportation and entertainment.

Authors:

Karla Zimmerman, James Bainbridge, Celeste Brash, Natalie Folster, Scott Kennedy, John Lee, Graham Neale, Brandon Presser, Charles Rawlings-Way, Sarah Richards, Aaron Spitzer and Ryan Ver Berkmoes.

More things to see and do in Canada:

Canada hotels, restaurants and activities

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