Charles Sauriol (1904–1995)

Maybe it's just my teacher's eye (or maybe they didn't have editors back then) but this book was riddled with typos and it was all I could do not to circle them! ;-) . Despite that, I quite enjoyed this look at the history of the area where I live. Sauriol grew up on the Don River at the beginning of the last century and published this book over 35 years ago. I have only lived in this area for the last 15 years and did not even grow up in this province. But I love the ravine system and love local history so learning about how this river that runs down the middle of Toronto was so instrumental in the development of the city, was really what compelled me to keep reading. Sauriol was also an avid conservationist and the history he chronicles is not only political, urban, and local history, but also the natural history of the area and how it has changed to allow for all the rest to develop. This is the natural way of life but in some ways, it is sad. That said, Toronto is still a city of lots of green spaces and many parks and ravines and is one of the things I love about living here.… (more)