Review"Given how many books have been written about the exploration of Vancouver Island and the waters around it, is there really room for one more? In a word, yes. Michael Layland’s A Perfect Eden is a fine addition to the range of books already published . . . This book is informative and highly readable, and no matter how much you have read about exploration of the Island, you will surely learn from this book as well." (Dave Obee Times Colonist 2016-10-04)"Layland is the perfect guide. He has read everything about Vancouver Island from 1774 to 1862, and delivers the choicest morsels from hundred of log books and diaries. He introduces us, in pictures and stories, to the poeple whose names we live with every day . . . and takes us with them as they charted these waters and measured the land . . . This book is my top pick." (Robert Amos Times Colonist 2016-12-04)A Perfect Eden is on the Vancouver Sun's list of BC Bestsellers through the month of December. (Vancouver Sun 2016-12-17)"A well-organized, well-written guide to first contact [between European explorers and First Nations in BC]." (Steven Hume Vancouver Sun 2016-12-21)In A Perfect Eden, Michael Layland describes the origins of our love affair with Vancouver Island. For much of it he lets those who came here speak for themselves with liberal quotes from their writings. He does not offer a lot of analysis, but rather tells the story of European exploration of, and growing attachment to, this particular part of the world . . . He tells the story with knowledge and affection, and the book is beautifully produced and illustrated. (Robin Fisher The Ormsby Review 2017-03-04)A compelling history of the earliest explorers to Vancouver Island, brought to life with illustrations and maps. Shortlisted for two 2017 BC Book Prizes.In 1842, when explorer James Douglas encountered the rugged natural paradise that would become Vancouver Island, he described it as “a perfect Eden." This book gathers the early recorded histories and personal accounts left by Chinese seafarers, Spanish and British naval officers, traders seeking sea otter pelts, colonial surveyors, as well as soldiers, settlers, and other adventurers, starting from many centuries ago up to 1858. Collected here in detail for the first time, these accounts create a multilayered tale of discovery and exploration.A Perfect Eden is the companion volume to the acclaimed The Land of Heart's Delight: Early Maps and Charts of Vancouver Island, which was shortlisted for the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice BC Book Prize, and for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize.About the AuthorMichael Layland has served as president of the Victoria Historical Society, the Friends of the BC Archives, and on the committee of the Historical Map Society of BC. He was trained as an officer and mapmaker in the Royal Engineers, and he lives in Victoria, BC. Find out more at michaellayland.com.
