Rufus Reviews
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"A revealing glimpse into the early world of BC newspapers that we still read today. Following the fascinating life of reporter and Province editor Lukin Johnston, whose own story ends like a detective novel, we see both BC and Europe through the eyes of a remarkable and worldly British Columbian."
"Lukin "Rufus" Johnston is the perfect image of a late Victorian British school-boy who conquered the Canadian West, returned to his homeland and parlayed this dual patriotism into a respected and ultimately thrilling journalistic career in Western Europe during the 1930s."
"Drawing extensively on Johnston's own diaries and family letters, Castle gives us a strong sense of what made Johnston tick... a comprehensive biography of a man who could have faded into the obscurity of history, even though he was a household name eight decades ago. It is also a real-life mystery."
"Castle's book hits its dramatic high point recounting Johnston's reporting in Europe starting just before the Nazis took power"
"On top of his often scathing reports on life in Nazi Germany, where stormtroopers were rampant, Johnston was astute in his observations, predicting war was coming... But the biggest story of all was that exclusive interview with the most fascinating leader in Europe - and if Castle is right, the Hitler scoop cost 46-year-old Johnston his life..." "a vital account of the First World War trenches... but emerging from those details and war horrors is a picture of a young man with incredible enthusiasm for life."
"Colin Castle has undertaken a labour of love. The retired schoolteacher spent four years researching, transcribing, and writing the story of newspaperman Lukin "Rufus" Johnston...This book stands as a valuable asset for anyone interested in the military, newspaper, or general history of British Columbia in the early twentieth century."
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