{"product_id":"9780889024021","title":"The Last Best West","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs the great tide of settlers surged into Canada in the years 1896-1914, to claim the free homesteads advertised by the government, immigration officers laboured to record a bewildering variety of nationalities, languages and occupations. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book contains photographs taken by professionals and amateurs, combining to form a striking, visual record of a fascinating diversity of people, of costume and habitation, of churches and stores, of farming methods and implements. Powerfully evocative first-hand accounts taken from letters and diaries communicate something which the photographs alone cannot: despite all the obvious differences of origin and outlook, of religion and education and personal advantage, settling the west was essentially a common experience. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInterior Department files contain the story of the Government's great campaign for settlers, and the complex chain of officialdom down which the immigrants passed until they reached their destination. A treasure trove of photographs and personal reminiscences exists in public sources across Canada. Material used in this book comes from the Public Archives of Canada; the GlenBow-Alberta Institute; the United Church Archives; the Provincial Archives of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario; the public libraries of Saskatchewan and Vancouver; Vancouver City Archives; the University of British Columbia Library; the Western Development Museum, Saskatoon, and the Canadian Pacific Railway. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fitzhenry \u0026 Whiteside, Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47032850743536,"sku":"9780889024021","price":12.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780889024021_p0.jpg?v=1763846807","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780889024021","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}