Excelsior! The Story of the Todd Family

Peter Henderson teaches history at Douglas College in New Westminster,
B.C.

This book is extremely well researched, with a full bibliography, clear
source footnotes, and appropriate photographs. Unfortunately the
writer’s style is so pedestrian as to fail completely in holding this
reviewer’s interest. The book is simply a recital of facts, with more
than its fair share of clichés and hyperbole. For example, the founding
father of this trading family on Vancouver Island is referred to as
“one of the nineteenth century’s greatest industrialists.”

Excelsior will interest only those deeply concerned with the minutiae
of B.C.’s history.