Books published by Heritage House Publishing Co Ltd

In contrast to the widely known experiences of Asian immigrants who came to Canada, this book looks at movement in the opposite direction. Using text and images, it is a collection of stories about how Canadians "found Japan," the first place they reached when travelling westward across the Pacific. These connections began as early as 1848, when the adventurous son of a Hudson''s Bay Company trader tempted fate by smuggling himself, disguised as a shipwrecked sailor, into the closed and exotic land of the shoguns. He was followed by an intriguing cast of characters--missionaries, educators, businessmen, social activists, political figures, diplomats, soldiers and occasional misfits--who experienced a rapidly changing Japan as it underwent its remarkable transformation from a largely feudal society to a modern state. Now, when the world is becoming more Asia-centric, Finding Japan provides glimpses into an earlier era that challenged conventional perceptions about Canadian connections across the Pacific.

The stories of the men and women who dug for gold on Williams Creek are told in this rewritten and updated edition of a Canadian best-seller. The legendary town of Barkerville is flourishing today, just as it did more than 150 years ago, but this time under the care of professional and amateur historians. Richard Thomas Wright peels back the pages of history as he unearths the area''s history and chronicles the fortunes and the follies of gold-rush-era Barkerville. The result of years of around-the-world research, Barkerville and the Cariboo Goldfields brings to life the men and women of the creeks who came in search of gold and left their mark on BC history. Wright mined the archives to bring forth new information on the development of the Cariboo goldfields and nearby places of interest. Barkerville includes dozens of little-known historical photos and a complete index. It is the best, most comprehensive source of detailed information on this important national heritage site.