Every summer between 1882 and 1929, naturalist William Francis Ganong travelled through the wilderness of New Brunswick, systematically mapping previously uncharted territories, taking photographs, and documenting observations on the physical geography of the province that laid the foundations of the modern study of New Brunswick’s rich natural history. In The Lost Wilderness, acclaimed photographer and naturalist Nicholas Guitard retraces many of these journeys, comparing his notes with those recorded by Ganong in handwritten travel journals and published articles and monographs.

Richly illustrated with archival maps and photographs made by Ganong alongside the author’s own stunning photography, The Lost Wilderness finds a New Brunswick both utterly changed and amazingly similar to the wild place Ganong found a century ago. Nicholas Guitard revisits Ganong’s explorations and, in a warm and conversational style, illuminates his contributions to our present geographical knowledge of New Brunswick.

Deftly moving between past and present, Nicholas Guitard brings to life a New Brunswick that is only lost to our increasingly hectic, urban lives — a New Brunswick that we must find ourselves if we want to preserve if for future generations.

“This is an attractive book, and it will definitely appeal to naturalists (amateur and professional), historians and armchair adventurers like myself. The excellent photos alone add value to the text, which Mr. Guitard has painstakingly compiled. … Particularly interesting are Mr. Guitard’s own notes he adds at the end of several of the field trips. I imagine that he could have written a book about his own adventures alone.”
– Miramichi Reader