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About the Book
The inspiration for the book …
Authorized by his family and with the research support and participation of the University of Victoria Libraries, Briony Penn provides an unprecedented and accessible window into the story of this remarkable naturalist. From his formative years roaming the mountains around Vancouver looking for venison to his last years as a major contributor to the voluminous and authoritative Birds of British 
Columbia, Cowan’s life provides a unique perspective on a century of environmental change—with a critical message for the future.
As the head and founder of the first university-based wildlife department in Canada, Ian McTaggart Cowan revolutionized the way North Americans understood the natural world, and students flocked into his classrooms to hear his brilliant, entertaining lectures regarding the new science of ecology.
Chapter Previews are available at: http://www.cowantherealthing.com/the-real-thing
About the Author
Briony Penn is a naturalist, writer, educator, and broadcaster well known in BC for her indomitable spirit and tireless devotion to protecting endangered species and sensitive ecosystems in her native British Columbia.
Penn has published hundreds of articles in newspapers and magazines, government publications and peer-reviewed journals. She’s written environmental guides and handbooks for teachers in British Columbia on topics ranging from forest ecosystems and biodiversity to the natural and cultural history of the Salish Sea.
Author’s blog at: http://www.cowantherealthing.com/news
Praise for the Book
Briony Penn’s The Real Thing: The Natural History of Ian McTaggart Cowan is as much a biography of Cowan as a tribute to the BC landscapes and animal species he was fascinated by, many of them since lost to a century of destructive development. This detailed and highly engaging exploration of Cowan’s life, and the places and species that shaped his career and his thinking as a scientist, captures the wonder that Cowan felt for the natural world and the “insatiable appetite” for local knowledge (80) that he held throughout his life.
From the Globe and Mail:
The Real Thing: The Natural History of Ian McTaggart-Cowan, explores the life of a remarkable man who might be called the most important conservationist you never heard of.
“Aldo Leopold became a household name in the States, and Cowan was relegated to obscurity. It’s kind of the quintessential Canadian story,” said Ms. Penn, an environmental activist, writer and adjunct professor at the University of Victoria. “Peter Scott and David Attenborough [whose natural history television shows he directly inspired] became knighted and worldwide names, and Cowan was forgotten.”
Dr. McTaggart-Cowan did scientific research and founded the first university-based wildlife department in Canada. But perhaps his most significant contribution was through his popular television shows, which influenced the way people think about the natural world.
