The Book of the West / The story of western Canada, its birth and early adventures, its youthful combats, its peaceful settlement, its great transformation, and its present ways

The book surveys the natural and human development of western Canada, beginning with geological origins, Ice Age life, and early Indigenous habitation, then following European exploration and the fur-trade era with competing companies. It describes the gradual opening of settlement through railways and immigration, the rise of ranching, farming, mining, and fisheries, and the political formation of provinces. Accounts of conflicts, treaties, policing, and community institutions sit alongside snapshots of daily life, technological change, and the diverse peoples whose interactions have shaped the region's landscapes, economy, and civic character.