British Columbia by the Road: Car Culture and the Making of a Modern Landscape par Ben Bradley

Abstract

Reviewed by: British Columbia by the Road: Car Culture and the Making of a Modern Landscape par Ben Bradley Michael Dawson Bradley, Ben. British Columbia by the Road: Car Culture and the Making of a Modern Landscape. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2017. Pp. 309. The notion that the automobile transformed North American society over the course of the twentieth century comes as no surprise to denizens of lecture halls and readers of textbooks. The advent of the internal combustion engine and the roadways that allowed drivers to commute, vacation, date, and trade in the comfort of their own vehicles transformed work, leisure, courtship, commerce, and countless other activities.. Sometimes such travels opened up exciting new opportunities—a remote campsite far from home, for example. On other occasions, they resulted in frustration—perhaps bumper-to-bumper traffic on a Friday afternoon that delayed the start of the weekend. What united these disparate experiences, Ben Bradley argues, was "automobility"—"the system of objects, spaces, images, habits and practices that surrounded private automobiles and public roads" (p. 232). In British Columbia by the Road, Bradley delves deep into the historical record to explore what this phenomenon meant for the landscape of the BC interior. Boasting equal parts environmental and commemoration history, Bradley's study offers fresh perspectives on tourism promotion, park development, political culture, and public history. Befitting a study focusing on driving's visual culture, the book has superb maps and photographs—including tangible evidence that today's forest-fire-prevention signs pale in comparison to the threatening discourses of the early 1950s! Keen to qualify and correct perceptions that have championed automobile travel as liberating and unfettered (particularly in comparison to rail travel), Bradley's study demonstrates that "the practice of driving and the experience of landscapes by the road were more firmly constrained than commonly recognized." After all, by travelling the same routes and visiting the same authorized and publicized stopping points, auto travellers "were all seeing the same landscapes, even if their readings of such shared experiences might be various" (p. 11). The book's organization cleverly parallels the author's aim to balance structure with the agency of his subjects, for he provides the reader with a fair amount of autonomy while effectively reinforcing his key conclusions. He offers two ways forward, Route A (four chapters examining nature) and Route B (four exploring historical commemoration) and encourages readers to determine the order of their trip. A tight conclusion brings together common themes. Route A explores the very different histories of Manning and Hamber provincial parks, both established in 1941. While Manning remains a popular [End Page 455] camping destination, Hamber became a prime example of a "failed" park (p. 66). In documenting and comparing their fates, Bradley offers a window onto a wide range of competing interests, including forestry, tourism, and wildlife-management lobbies, provincial and federal governments, and auto travellers. In doing so, he vividly illustrates the extent to which decisions about highway development shaped the parks' destinies. From our present vantage point, Manning's preservation and development might seem natural enough, but the two case studies on offer underscore the contested and contingent nature of the decisions to set aside provincial land for recreational purposes. Route B explores the kinds of history lessons that auto travellers came across as they toured the province's interior. Here the author nicely balances an analysis of the aims and initiatives of local entrepreneurs and history buffs with fresh insights into the machinations of state actors. With case studies focusing on the 1958 BC Centennial Celebrations, roadside plaques, Barkerville, and Fort Steele, Bradley documents the selectivity involved in preserving and celebrating the province's past. He also skilfully connects local decisions and conflicts to broader province- and continent-wide trends—and the role that the automobile played in exposing both British Columbians and the province's visitors to highly edited understandings of the past. An effective and self-aware conclusion neatly outlines the book's potential impact while highlighting themes demanding further study. Roads, Bradley notes, served as "a kind of cultural infrastructure" that shaped the views and experiences of the people who used them (p. 234...