British Columbia by the road : car culture and the making of a modern landscape

Bradley, Ben 1975- (author.).

Summary: In British Columbia by the Road, Ben Bradley takes readers on an unprecedented journey through the history of roads, highways, and motoring in British Columbia's Interior, a remote landscape composed of plateaus and interlocking valleys, soaring mountains and treacherous passes. Challenging the idea that the automobile offered travellers the freedom of the road and a view of unadulterated nature, Bradley shows that boosters, businessmen, conservationists, and public servants manipulated what drivers and passengers could and should view from the comfort of their vehicles. Although cars and roads promised freedom, they offered drivers a curated view of the landscape that shaped the province's image in the eyes of residents and visitors alike.

Record details

ISBN: 9780774834186 (hardcover) :
Physical Description: print
xii, 309 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm
Publisher: Vancouver ; UBC Press, [2017]
Copyright: ©2017

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-297) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction: automobility and the making of new kinds of experience -- Route A: a drive through nature -- 1. Toward a park in the Cascade Mountains -- 2. Behind the scenery in Manning Park -- 3. The politics of roads and parks in the Big Bend country -- 4. The failure of Hamber Park and the Big Bend highway -- Route B: paths to the past -- 5. Tracing the route of the Cariboo Wagon Road -- 6. Changing times and crisis amidst prosperity -- 7. On the road for the 1958 Centennial -- 8. Mixed fortunes in the BC Old Rush -- Conclusion: looking back on British Columbia by the road.