Description

From the earliest explorers on the Columbia River in BC or the Mattawa in Ontario to a doomed expedition of voyageurs up the Nile to rescue Khartoum; from the author’s family roots deep in the Algonquin wilderness to modern families who have canoed across the country (kids and dogs included): Canoe Country is Roy MacGregor’s celebration of the essential and enduring love affair Canadians have with our first and still favourite means of getting around. Famous paddlers have been so enchanted with the canoe that one swore God made Canada as the perfect country in which to paddle it. Drawing on MacGregor’s own decades spent whenever possible with a paddle in his hand, this is a story of high adventure on white water and the sweetest peace in nature’s quietest corners, from the author best able (and most eager) to tell it.

From the Back Cover

“A book that celebrates our love affair with the canoe and how the vessel shaped Canada.” Toronto Star

“Perfect for the die-hard canoeist…. There is an underlying current of nostalgia to MacGregor’s canoe stories, the tales moored in that old Canada of Dominion Day, “The Maple Leaf Forever,’ the Queen (Victoria, that is) and an attachment to the wilderness bequeathed by near ancestors, grandparents even, who lived in log houses and had to hunt dinner.” Ottawa Citizen

“MacGregor is a compelling storyteller who, like Pierre Berton before him, transforms historical research into high drama, elevating ordinary people who do extraordinary things into admirable folk heroes.  I couldn’t put Canoe Country down once I started paddling into its narrative rapids.” Waterloo Regional Record

“One of Canada’s finest storytellers…. Never flashy, MacGregor’s prose weaves colorful characters into nuanced narratives, often with ‘everyman’ charm…. Canoe Country is destined to become classic literature.” Canoe & Kayak Magazine