The Mackenzie - Yesterday and Beyond

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Book Reviews

Review #1
By: Sheila Rolfe
Vancouver, BC
Q's Reviews

To most of us, the North is still mysterious. It looms 'somewhere up there', an inhospitable cold blur of unfamiliar landscape, populated thinly by native people and those who are after resources. We don't know its history; we know little of its present.

Alfred Aquilina knows quite a bit, however. As Regional Superintendent for the Department of Social Services, he has lived in Aklavik, Inuvik and Fort Smith. He's travelled all over the North West Territories. His deep interest is evident in his new book called The Mackenzie - Yesterday and Beyond.

It's not intended as a comprehensive history but as an overview. The book gives the reader a chance to travel on the Mackenzie River, over the Chilkoot Pass, or venture onto the ice roads connecting the Delta settlements. It offers a taste of life then and now, with many anecdotes and historical touches. The author gives full credit to the R.C.M.P. for their service in the area. Then as now, a career in the force meant a lot of thankless and hazardous assignments. The story of the Mad Trapper of Rat River is one of the more exciting.

The author also shows the impact (not always beneficial) of the churches on northern society. The effects of changes in culture are examined throughout the book.

Aquilina has written a thoroughly readable account of the area and liberally illustrated it with a host of maps, photos and artwork. The Mackenzie - Yesterday and Beyond is a paperback from Hancock House.

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Review #2

by: Norm Miller

Dehcho Paddlers Association

This is a must read for anyone who is traveling in this region as it is full of history. There are many photos from the turn of the century to the present. Provides details from the Hudson's Bay days to the recent oil exploration. The book gives fairly detailed information on historic sites that are hard to find while paddling down the Mackenzie such as old forts and villages. A great book to take with you while on your trip. The struggles of the past and what lies in the future are detailed in this book about the Canadian North. -- Norm Miller

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Review #3

The Arctic has fascinated generations of explorers. The search first for the Northwest Passage, then for furs, whales and gold, and most recently for oil, has brought considerable ingenuity to bear in their efforts to establish a foothold in this often hostile environment, and displayed incredible courage and endurance. Their impact on the Aboriginal peoples has been profound: they introduced new religions, news lifestyles, new foods, new diseases. Inuit and Dene cultures are still trying to come to terms with the changes.

The recorded history of this area is brief, often dramatic, always intriguing. As explorers, traders and missionaries spread out across the land, they created a distinctive pattern of settlement and development. Trading posts and residential mission schools, DEW line stations, towns with pilings in the permafrost and utilidors connecting houses, and linking everything together, a unique communications system, part modern highway, part trail, part ice road, part river.

The struggle to realize the Vision of the North is detailed in this enthralling book. Historic photos bring the past alive and capture the process of change.

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