Boys Bombs and Brussels Sprouts

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Author :
Publisher : McClelland & Stewart
ISBN 13 : 1551994771
Total Pages : 268 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (519 download)

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Book Synopsis Boys Bombs and Brussels Sprouts by : J. Douglas Harvey

Download or read book Boys Bombs and Brussels Sprouts written by J. Douglas Harvey and published by McClelland & Stewart. This book was released on 2013-07-23 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They called them the “Brylcreem boys” -- the young flyers who streamed into England from the first declaration of war, the kids with the jaunty grins and the willingness to take terrible risks. Among them were thousands of young Canadians, many barely out of high school, all delighted to leave behind humdrum lives in dusty, post-Depression Canada for the irresistible chance to learn to fly and help beat the Germans. Doug Harvey was one of them -- a nineteen-year-old from Toronto who joined the RCAF, and in 1942 found himself a pilot in the elite Canadian No. 6 Bomber Group.

Last Flight to Stuttgart

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Author :
Publisher : Heritage House Publishing Co
ISBN 13 : 1772032638
Total Pages : 265 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (72 download)

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Book Synopsis Last Flight to Stuttgart by : Lisa Jean Russ

Download or read book Last Flight to Stuttgart written by Lisa Jean Russ and published by Heritage House Publishing Co. This book was released on 2018-10-26 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A woman’s journey to uncover the fate of seven RCAF crewmen who perished in the Second World War. For most of her life, Lisa Russ knew little about her second cousin, Robert “Bud” George Alfred Burt. All she had were two grainy photos, a poem Bud had written shortly before his death, and the knowledge that he was a tail gunner in a Lancaster bomber during the Second World War. It was only when Russ—a self-described “discouraged modern-day war bride”—found herself displaced, unemployed, and homesick in Australia that she began to search for a deeper connection to her family back in Canada and stumbled upon the remarkable story of Bud and his fellow crewmen, who were shot down over Stuttgart, Germany, in March of 1944. Just nineteen at the time of his death, Bud was one of the bomber boys of Lancaster II, a member of 408 “Goose” Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Although he was but one of tens of thousands of long-forgotten Allied soldiers who perished in the War, for Russ he became an emblem of courage and sacrifice. Last Flight to Stuttgart is a riveting story, told in parallel timelines, of one woman’s quest for remembrance of a brave crew and their ill-fated mission. For every leader who has his story told, there are many thousands of servicemen whose stories never come to light. This book honours the marginalised by telling their story.

Wartime

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199763313
Total Pages : 345 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (997 download)

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Book Synopsis Wartime by : Paul Fussell

Download or read book Wartime written by Paul Fussell and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1990-10-25 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of both the National Book Award for Arts and Letters and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism, Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory was one of the most original and gripping volumes ever written about the First World War. Frank Kermode, in The New York Times Book Review, hailed it as "an important contribution to our understanding of how we came to make World War I part of our minds," and Lionel Trilling called it simply "one of the most deeply moving books I have read in a long time." In its panaramic scope and poetic intensity, it illuminated a war that changed a generation and revolutionized the way we see the world. Now, in Wartime, Fussell turns to the Second World War, the conflict he himself fought in, to weave a narrative that is both more intensely personal and more wide-ranging. Whereas his former book focused primarily on literary figures, on the image of the Great War in literature, here Fussell examines the immediate impact of the war on common soldiers and civilians. He describes the psychological and emotional atmosphere of World War II. He analyzes the euphemisms people needed to deal with unacceptable reality (the early belief, for instance, that the war could be won by "precision bombing," that is, by long distance); he describes the abnormally intense frustration of desire and some of the means by which desire was satisfied; and, most important, he emphasizes the damage the war did to intellect, discrimination, honesty, individuality, complexity, ambiguity and wit. Of course, no Fussell book would be complete without some serious discussion of the literature of the time. He examines, for instance, how the great privations of wartime (when oranges would be raffled off as valued prizes) resulted in roccoco prose styles that dwelt longingly on lavish dinners, and how the "high-mindedness" of the era and the almost pathological need to "accentuate the positive" led to the downfall of the acerbic H.L. Mencken and the ascent of E.B. White. He also offers astute commentary on Edmund Wilson's argument with Archibald MacLeish, Cyril Connolly's Horizon magazine, the war poetry of Randall Jarrell and Louis Simpson, and many other aspects of the wartime literary world. Fussell conveys the essence of that wartime as no other writer before him. For the past fifty years, the Allied War has been sanitized and romanticized almost beyond recognition by "the sentimental, the loony patriotic, the ignorant, and the bloodthirsty." Americans, he says, have never understood what the Second World War was really like. In this stunning volume, he offers such an understanding.

The Necessary War, Volume 1

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin Canada
ISBN 13 : 014319304X
Total Pages : 608 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (431 download)

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Book Synopsis The Necessary War, Volume 1 by : Tim Cook

Download or read book The Necessary War, Volume 1 written by Tim Cook and published by Penguin Canada. This book was released on 2014-09-09 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Co-winner of the 2014-2015 Charles P. Stacey Award Tim Cook, Canada’s leading war historian, ventures deep into World War Two in this epic two-volume story of heroism and horror, of loss and longing, sacrifice and endurance. Written in Cook’s compelling narrative style, this book shows in impressive detail how soldiers, airmen, and sailors fought—the evolving tactics, weapons of war, logistics, and technology. It gauges Canadian effectiveness against the skilled enemy whom they confronted in battlefields from 1939 to 1943, from the sweltering heat of Sicily to the frigid North Atlantic, and from the urban warfare of Ortona to the dark skies over Germany. The Necessary War examines the equally important factors of morale, discipline, and fortitude of the Canadian citizen-soldiers. The war was an engine of transformation for Canada. With a population of fewer than twelve million, Canada embraced its role as an arsenal of democracy, exporting war supplies, feeding its allies, and raising a million-strong armed forces that served and fought in nearly every theatre of war. The nation was mobilized like never before in the fight to preserve the liberal democratic order. The six-year-long exertion caused disruption, provoked nationwide industrialization, ushered in changes to gender roles, exacerbated the tension between English and French, and forged a new sense of Canadian identity. Canadians were willing to bear almost any burden and to pay the ultimate price in the pursuit of victory. As with his award-winning two-volume series on WWI, Tim Cook uses original sources, letters from soldiers, rare documents, and maps of battlefields to illustrate the contributions and sacrifices made by what is often called the greatest generation. Magisterial in its scope, The Necessary War illuminates Canada’s past as never before. From the Western Front to the home front, Canadians served many roles in a war that had to be fought and won.

Bombs Away!

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Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9401201919
Total Pages : 404 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis Bombs Away! by :

Download or read book Bombs Away! written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prompted by recent challenges to and debates about the relative public silence concerning the effects of the Allied air war over Europe during World War II, this collection of essays examines literary, visual (film and photography), and institutional (museums) representations of the bombing of civilian targets, predominantly in Germany. The authors examine narrative strategies of both well-known and relatively little known works as well as the moral and ideological presuppositions of the varied representations of the depredations of total war. The introduction and afterword by the editors invite the readers to expand the contours and historical context of the debates about the German public discourse on the bombing war beyond the narrow confines of perpetrators and victims. The volume will be of interest to literary scholars, historians, and the general reading public interested in warfare and its effects on civilian populations.

Bombs Away!

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Author :
Publisher : Rodopi
ISBN 13 : 9789042017597
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis Bombs Away! by : Wilfried Wilms

Download or read book Bombs Away! written by Wilfried Wilms and published by Rodopi. This book was released on 2006 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prompted by recent challenges to and debates about the relative public silence concerning the effects of the Allied air war over Europe during World War II, this collection of essays examines literary, visual (film and photography), and institutional (museums) representations of the bombing of civilian targets, predominantly in Germany. The authors examine narrative strategies of both well-known and relatively little known works as well as the moral and ideological presuppositions of the varied representations of the depredations of total war. The introduction and afterword by the editors invite the readers to expand the contours and historical context of the debates about the German public discourse on the bombing war beyond the narrow confines of perpetrators and victims. The volume will be of interest to literary scholars, historians, and the general reading public interested in warfare and its effects on civilian populations.

Tumbling Mirth

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Author :
Publisher : McClelland & Stewart
ISBN 13 : 1551994798
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (519 download)

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Book Synopsis Tumbling Mirth by : J. Douglas Harvey

Download or read book Tumbling Mirth written by J. Douglas Harvey and published by McClelland & Stewart. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tumbling Mirth is an anecdotal look at the Royal Canadian Air Force from its origins in 1924 to the time of its unification in 1967. During those years the Air Force was the RCAF, and members were proud to serve their country. The author, Douglas Harvey, served for twenty-two years and Tumbling Mirth is a collection of his stories and tales remembering what it was like to work in the air force, with cartoons drawn by Warrant Officer Ray Tracy.

Fight to the Finish

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 014319612X
Total Pages : 608 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (431 download)

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Book Synopsis Fight to the Finish by : Tim Cook

Download or read book Fight to the Finish written by Tim Cook and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-09-29 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2016 Ottawa Book Award The magisterial second volume of Tim Cook's definitive account of Canadians fighting in the Second World War. Historian Tim Cook displays his trademark storytelling ability in the second volume of his masterful account of Canadians in World War II. Cook combines an extraordinary grasp of military strategy with a deep empathy for the soldiers on the ground, at sea and in the air. Whether it's a minute-by-minute account of a gruelling artillery battle, vicious infighting among generals, the scene inside a medical unit, or the small details of a soldier's daily life, Cook creates a compelling narrative. He recounts in mesmerizing detail how the Canadian forces figured in the Allied bombing of Germany, the D-Day landing at Juno beach, the taking of Caen, and the drive south. Featuring dozens of black-and-white photographs and moving excerpts from letters and diaries of servicemen, Fight to the Finish is a memorable account of Canadians who fought abroad and of the home front that was changed forever.

One of the Boys

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Author :
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN 13 : 0773582649
Total Pages : 373 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (735 download)

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Book Synopsis One of the Boys by : Paul Jackson

Download or read book One of the Boys written by Paul Jackson and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 2010 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new edition of a book that has changed the way we think about sexual conduct and combat.

Cream of the Crop

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Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN 13 : 9780773513983
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (139 download)

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Book Synopsis Cream of the Crop by : Allan Douglas English

Download or read book Cream of the Crop written by Allan Douglas English and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 1996 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique offering to military studies critiquing the effectiveness of the Royal Canadian Air Forces' aircrew preparations for war, a selection system and training program which became a modern model. English (war studies, Royal Military College of Canada) traces the development of aviation psychology and the treatment of psychological casualties in air combat, paying attention to the controversy of diagnosing aviators as "lacking moral fibre" and its effect on morale. By exploring these issues, the author includes the human dimension as an influence on air force effectiveness, as much as material and technological innovations. Includes some photographs. Canadian card order number C96-900371-4. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

B for Buster

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Author :
Publisher : Laurel Leaf
ISBN 13 : 0307433153
Total Pages : 244 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis B for Buster by : Iain Lawrence

Download or read book B for Buster written by Iain Lawrence and published by Laurel Leaf. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nicknamed after his hometown of Kakabeka, Canada, Kak dreams of flying with the Allied bombers in World War II. So at 16, underage and desperate to escape his abusive parents, he enlists in the Canadian Air Force. Soon he is trained as a wireless operator and sent to a squadron in England, where he’s unabashedly gung ho about flying his first op. He thinks the night ops over Germany will be like the heroic missions of his favorite comic-book heroes. Good will vanquish evil. But his first time out, in a plane called B for Buster, reveals the ops for what they really are—a harrowing ordeal. The bombing raids bring searchlights . . . artillery from below . . . and night fighters above hunting to take the bombers down. One hit, Kak knows, and B for Buster, along with him and his six crewmates, could be destroyed. Kak is terrified. He can’t confide his feelings to his crew, since he’s already worried that they’ll find out his age. Besides, none of them seem afraid. Only in Bert, the slovenly caretaker of the homing pigeons that go on every op, does Kak find an unlikely friend. Bert seems to understand what the other men don’t talk about—the shame, the sense of duty, and the paralyzing fear. As Kak seeks out Bert’s company, he somehow finds the strength to face his own uncertain future. From the Hardcover edition.

Flying against Fate

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Author :
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700624694
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

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Book Synopsis Flying against Fate by : S. P. MacKenzie

Download or read book Flying against Fate written by S. P. MacKenzie and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2017-08-04 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II, Allied casualty rates in the air were high. Of the roughly 125,000 who served as aircrew with Bomber Command, 59,423 were killed or missing and presumed killed—a fatality rate of 45.5%. With odds like that, it would be no surprise if there were as few atheists in cockpits as there were in foxholes; and indeed, many airmen faced their dangerous missions with beliefs and rituals ranging from the traditional to the outlandish. Military historian S. P. MacKenzie considers this phenomenon in Flying against Fate, a pioneering study of the important role that superstition played in combat flier morale among the Allies in World War II. Mining a wealth of documents as well as a trove of published and unpublished memoirs and diaries, MacKenzie examines the myriad forms combat fliers' superstitions assumed, from jinxes to premonitions. Most commonly, airmen carried amulets or talismans—lucky boots or a stuffed toy; a coin whose year numbers added up to thirteen; counterintuitively, a boomerang. Some performed rituals or avoided other acts, e.g., having a photo taken before a flight. Whatever seemed to work was worth sticking with, and a heightened risk often meant an upsurge in superstitious thought and behavior. MacKenzie delves into behavior analysis studies to help explain the psychology behind much of the behavior he documents—not slighting the large cohort of crew members and commanders who demurred. He also looks into the ways in which superstitious behavior was tolerated or even encouraged by those in command who saw it as a means of buttressing morale. The first in-depth exploration of just how varied and deeply felt superstitious beliefs were to tens of thousands of combat fliers, Flying against Fate expands our understanding of a major aspect of the psychology of war in the air and of World War II.

The Bomber Aircrew Experience

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Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1510702636
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis The Bomber Aircrew Experience by : Philip Kaplan

Download or read book The Bomber Aircrew Experience written by Philip Kaplan and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the wartime experiences of the bomber boys in World War II. Flying bombers during World War II was a harrowing ordeal. Unlike the fighter jocks, who pit their skill and wits against each other in agile aerial combat, the bomber boys had to endure the fear and savagery of the air war with grim acceptance—their only option to sit and take it. Manning lumbering machines that could not maneuver or defend themselves effectively, the aircrews had to rely on tight aircraft formations and their own bravery to survive the onslaught of enemy fighters and anti-aircraft artillery. Within these great planes, they developed bonds like no other; young men thrust together in a shared fate, risking their lives in slow-moving yet beautiful and powerful aircraft over the skies of numerous war zones, thousands of feet above the battlegrounds but no further away from the horrors. Fully illustrated with hundreds of color and black-and-white photographs, as well as dozens of interviews, Philip Kaplan’s The Bomber Aircrew Experience offers an intimate glimpse into the life and times of these wartime airmen. The bomber boys recount their harrowing missions over Germany’s industrial heartland, paving the way for Allied victory in the Second World War’s European Theatre. Discover what it was like to man such planes as the great Flying Fortress and the Liberator, and what it was like for the British and Commonwealth boys flying night missions in the Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Stirlings. And then finally, learn about the development of the modern stealth bombers: the F-117 Nighthawk and the B-2 Spirit. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Night & Day Bomber Offensive

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Author :
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1783460512
Total Pages : 648 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (834 download)

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Book Synopsis Night & Day Bomber Offensive by : Philip Kaplan

Download or read book Night & Day Bomber Offensive written by Philip Kaplan and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2007-03-27 with total page 648 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For much of World War II England provided the only western European base from which the British and American air forces could take the war into Nazi-occupied Europe and Germany itself. The American Eighth and Ninth Air Forces struck enemy targets by day at great distances, often on raids of eight or nine hours duration, while the RAF flew most of its demanding missions at night.This highly illustrated book will convey what it was like for pilots, aircrew and ground crew during their wartime service. It not only takes the reader on typical USAAF and RAF raids, but it also depicts the work of the mechanics and fitters as they struggled to keep battered aircraft airworthy, how the medics coped with the countless wounded who returned from the raids and looks at where the airmen relaxed within the various bases or in the local villages and towns. It will include period and later images of the bases, the aircraft, memorials and relevant locations in Britain, France and Germany. It will be a vivid and powerful human expression of the bomber airmen's wartime experience.

Laughter-Silvered Wings

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Author :
Publisher : McClelland & Stewart
ISBN 13 : 155199478X
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (519 download)

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Book Synopsis Laughter-Silvered Wings by : J. Douglas Harvey

Download or read book Laughter-Silvered Wings written by J. Douglas Harvey and published by McClelland & Stewart. This book was released on 2013-07-09 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of Boys, Bombs, and Brussels Sprouts and The Tumbling Mirth: Remembering the Air Force comes yet another uproarious ascent into high-altitude insanity. And this time, J. Douglas Harvey includes delightful anecdotes sent to him by “WDs” -- as enthusiastic and proud as any member of the air force, the first-ever members of the Women's Division led a life that was often tough, but always intriguing. This book contains dozens of hilarious stories from WDs who recall the days when uniforms seemed to come in just a single size -- but women had to be brave in more ways than one. There is a wealth of other incident here as well. Confessions of blunders (or hair-breadth escapes) in the air, details of disastrous parades, and stories of social occasions that were sometimes bungled -- but always enjoyed. Poems, pranks, and practical jokes are all part of this light-hearted look at the air force from pre-Royal Canadian Air Force days on.

The Fight for History

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0735238340
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (352 download)

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Book Synopsis The Fight for History by : Tim Cook

Download or read book The Fight for History written by Tim Cook and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER FINALIST for the 2021 Ottawa Book Awards A masterful telling of the way World War Two has been remembered, forgotten, and remade by Canada over seventy-five years. The Second World War shaped modern Canada. It led to the country's emergence as a middle power on the world stage; the rise of the welfare state; industrialization, urbanization, and population growth. After the war, Canada increasingly turned toward the United States in matters of trade, security, and popular culture, which then sparked a desire to strengthen Canadian nationalism from the threat of American hegemony. The Fight for History examines how Canadians framed and reframed the war experience over time. Just as the importance of the battle of Vimy Ridge to Canadians rose, fell, and rose again over a 100-year period, the meaning of Canada's Second World War followed a similar pattern. But the Second World War's relevance to Canada led to conflict between veterans and others in society--more so than in the previous war--as well as a more rapid diminishment of its significance. By the end of the 20th century, Canada's experiences in the war were largely framed as a series of disasters. Canadians seemed to want to talk only of the defeats at Hong Kong and Dieppe or the racially driven policy of the forced relocation of Japanese-Canadians. In the history books and media, there was little discussion of Canada's crucial role in the Battle of the Atlantic, the success of its armies in Italy and other parts of Europe, or the massive contribution of war materials made on the home front. No other victorious nation underwent this bizarre reframing of the war, remaking victories into defeats. The Fight for History is about the efforts to restore a more balanced portrait of Canada's contribution in the global conflict. This is the story of how Canada has talked about the war in the past, how we tried to bury it, and how it was restored. This is the history of a constellation of changing ideas, with many historical twists and turns, and a series of fascinating actors and events.

Write Soon and Often

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Author :
Publisher : FriesenPress
ISBN 13 : 1460293959
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (62 download)

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Book Synopsis Write Soon and Often by : Andy Thomson

Download or read book Write Soon and Often written by Andy Thomson and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2016-12-05 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Travelling through Europe in the summer of 1939, 17-year-old Donald Plaunt witnessed preparations for war in every country he visited. After he completed high school in 1941, Donald became part of that war when he enlisted in the RCAF and became a Lancaster pilot. After training for 20 months, he flew in operations for five weeks before his death on his 11th mission in 1943. There are many compelling stories written by veterans about Bomber Command. What makes this pilot's story unique is that it is told in his youthful voice selected from 150 letters he wrote home. Peppered with his amusing sense of humour, his letters convey a very personal and colourful narrative ranging from tales of his Air Force training, the events of the war, the people he cared about, and the issues that bothered him. It is a story about youth and hope as we follow his journey from a carefree and somewhat entitled rookie pilot to the generous and proud captain of a Lancaster crew. It is also a story of sorrow that explores the heartbreaking impact of his death on his family when he, like so many other young men, did not return home.