Product Description

A fascinating historical and cultural examination of the canoe in North American culture. There is hardly a river or a lake in North America that was not first seen by Natives and Europeans alike from the gunwale of a canoe. Dugout, bark craft and skin canoes, used in aboriginal North America, coureur canoes used by French colonists, and the cane and wood crafts used by the Spanish explorers were all used for travel, exploration, trading and hunting for decades before the invention of the train or motorboat. In The Canoe: An Illustrated History, Jim Poling explores the relationship between North Americans and the canoe as it evolved from being a tool for survival and exploration to its modern-day place as a recreational watercraft, an Olympic sporting event and a work of skilled craftsmenship. With engaging historical accounts of the first canoeists, detailed explanations of canoe building - a craft that is still very much alive today - and more than 80 illustrations and photos, the idea of the canoe the role it has played in shaping North American culture is explored in fascinating detail. (2000)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1290997 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 143 pages

From Booklist
What do Nelson Eddy, Jeanette MacDonald, Pierre Trudeau, Marilyn Monroe, and Eric Sevareid have in common? According to this entertaining history, all of them experienced defining moments in a canoe. Enlivening his story with dry humor, Poling moves through the long, sometimes obscure history of the canoe as easily as if he were paddling a calm lake at dawn. He captures the canoe's central role in the lives of Stone Age people, Native Americans, European explorers, and Canadian and American fur traders, and he describes the way contemporary North Americans have made the canoe not only a source of recreation but also a link to the continent's history. Combining careful research with unbridled enthusiasm, and making the most of a well-chosen selection of black-and-white and color photos, Poling almost makes the reader believe that canoes are the world's most perfect transportation. John Rowen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Jim Poling, Sr. is the retired general manager and editor of The Canadian Press news agency. He is the author of The Canoe: An Illustrated History, also published by Key Porter Books, and is a frequent contributor to Cottage Life and Ontario Out of Doors magazines.

Kim Stallknech is an award-winning photographer based in Vancouver.