Whether you consider it the best place on earth, a wonderful province to visit or simply your home, British Columbia has a lot of things to offer. Throughout 2008, communities across the province have been and will still be celebrating 150 years of history, culture and community since the founding of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in 1858. Currently, BC author and historian Jean Barman is touring the province with her commemorative work, the photo book 'British Columbia: Spirit of the People'.

Last week, Barman visited four Kootenay communities and ended this leg of the tour with a presentation at the Cranbrook Public Library on Friday. Commissioned by the provincial government to write the book, Barman says it was important to her to include chapters about each of the ten geographical areas in BC. "It's really easy for people to think that only Vancouver and Victoria matter," she believes, "All of BC matters. It's not just where the mass of the population lives."

Although born in Minnesota, Barman has lived in this province for many years and is the author of many previous books on BC history. Many of them came about not only through research in archives and libraries, but also through contacts and memories of ordinary citizens. "Two of them came out from people wanting more information about their family," Barman remembers.

In all her work, Barman is trying to hook the readers with the human element of history and in the case of her latest work 'Spirit of the People' she also had an added tool at her disposal. In fact, Barman thinks, her writing is maybe only secondary "The book is beautiful because of all the images and all of the other things," she points out.

In fact, the photography in 'Spirit of the People' is stunning, showing off the most beautiful spots, the most important people and the most exciting events in the province. The audience at Barman's presentations got a glimpse at some of these pictures and the author put them into perspective with a overview of the different chapters.

"BC would not be what is it today if we did not take into consideration all parts," Barman believes. This is why her book walks through the province from the Kootenays in the Southeast to the island of Haida Gwaii in the Northwest. Another element of what made BC successful, Barman adds is valuing the events and factors that have contributed to how we have come to live together. In Barman's eyes, there were five key points in history: The gold rush of 1858, the transcontinental rail line in 1886, W.A.C. Bennett - Premier between 1952 and 1972, Expo 86 in Vancouver in 1986 and the signing of the Nisga'a Treaty in 2000.

"People do feel a link with British Columbia as a place," Barman is convinced. She hopes the book will help connect people in BC as well as from around the world. In her presentations so far, she adds, she as already seen a great diversity of people, from a young man who was looking for material to start his career as a playwright to people who had recently moved to this province and wanted to know more about their new home. "Hopefully the book speaks to people in all these different dimensions," Barman says.

'British Columbia: Spirit of the People' is available at all local libraries and people can also purchase the book at various local bookstores. In Cranbrook, Lotus Books has the book and even a limited amount of copies signed by the author.