Lights of the Inside Passage: A History of British Columbia's Lighthouses and their Keepers

The lighthouses of the inside passage, many of them built to guide prospectors on their way to the Klondike, stretch from sheltered stations on the Gulf Islands to stark, storm-swept Triple Island and Langara, south of Alaska. Feel the fury of destructive North Pacific gales and tidal waves that ravage the coast; ponder the unsolved murder of Addenbrooke's keeper, and the mysterious disappearances on Egg Island; witness the insanity caused by isolation -and enjoy the contentment and peace that many keepers found on their solitary stations. Don Graham, keeper at Vancouver's Point Atkinson light, tells the stories of individual lighthouses, then brings the history of lightkeepers in general into the present. The century-old tradition of service that has insured the safety of West Coast mariners and ships is currently threatened by automation, and Graham presents a persua-sive case against unmanning the lights through his account of the dedication and endurance of pioneer keepers.