This Was Our Valley

Whereas much of the recent writing on this subject has focused on the social and political turbulence surrounding the construction of the Site C Dam (Sarah Cox's excellent Breaching the Peace [2018] comes to mind), the reissue of This Was Our Valley begins at a time when hydro power on the Peace was a distant fantasy. Drawing together interviews, archival research, and her own first-hand experience, Smith skilfully weaves diverse narratives of labour unrest, natural resource mismanagement, bungled infrastructure projects, geological instability, and Indigenous dispossession (among many others). While the saga of the Site C Dam may be far from over, This Was Our Valley provides essential reading for researchers, activists, or concerned observers who are interested in the social and environmental history of the Peace River and the countless schemes to exert control over British Columbia's landscapes.