Mark Kuhlberg. Killing Bugs for Business and Beauty: Canada’s Aerial War against Forest Pests, 1913–1930. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2022.

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Killing Bugs for Business and Beauty: Canada’s Aerial War Against Forest Pests, 1913-1930 examines the launching of Canada’s aerial war against forest insects and how a tiny handful of officials came to lead the world with a made-in-Canada solution to the problem.

“At the core of this book about killing bugs is a story, infused with innovation and heroism, of the various conflicts that complicate how we worship wilderness.”

Shedding light on a largely forgotten chapter in Canadian environmental history, Mark Kuhlberg explores the theme of nature and its agency. The book highlights the shared impulses that often drove both the harvesters and the preservers of trees, and the acute dangers inherent in allowing emotional appeals instead of logic to drive environmental policy-making. It addresses both inter-governmental and intra-governmental relations, as well as pressure politics and lobbying. Including fascinating tales from Cape Breton Island, Muskoka, and Stanley Park, Killing Bugs for Business and Beauty clearly demonstrates how class, region, and commercial interest intersected to determine the location and timing of aerial bombings.

At the core of this book about killing bugs is a story, infused with innovation and heroism, of the various conflicts that complicate how we worship wilderness.

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Feature Image: Ford ‘Trimotor’ aircraft G-CYWZ of the R.C.A.F. making flight to test insect-dusting equipment. Rockcliffe, Ontario. June 1931. Credit: Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA.