Join journalist Allen Garr, broadcaster Red Robinson, musician Dal Richards & others to celebrate the launch of The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver ($49.95, Harbour Publishing) at the Vancouver Public Library-350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver-on Tuesday, December 6th at 7:00 pm.

What was happening in Vancouver during the Great War, when the Titanic sank, at the height of the Depression or the announcement of the lunar landing? Are we much changed since 1896 when City Council sanctioned a maximum of 25 cows per owner in the city limits, while today we squawk about how many chickens we can keep in our backyards? In The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver, the city's 125 years is put on display.

Change was fast in Vancouver's beginnings; the first schools, bridges and hospitals sprouted quickly. However, quantum leaps in growth were not without some growing pains. >From natural disasters like the Great Fire of 1886 and the Great Flood of 1894, to social disasters like the anti-potlatch law, Vancouver suffered many setbacks for all of its progress. Davis's exuberant storytelling offers a light-hearted hope that this is a city that learns from its mistakes-when the Great Fire cremated the city in a reported 20 to 45 minutes, Vancouver's first fire engine was ordered a week later. However, the book is equally fascinating for those revelations of what has not changed in one and a quarter centuries-forty years ago, the city rioted over pot. Today, it's over a Cup.

The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver is the city's diary that had, until now, been scattered in archives and memories. At once fascinating, inspiring and hilarious, this monumental last work from the late Chuck Davis is to be enjoyed by all who have experienced this city. The book is, as the author hoped, "fun, fat and filled with facts.";