Canadian Wwii Books

[webbhead]

Since I'm a new member and my specialty is Canadian war literature, I thought I'd post a list of favourites for anyone whose interested. Those from other countries can access used copies of these books at www.abebooks.com. Comments or additions from other members are most welcome...

Fiction:
EXECUTION by Colin McDougall (1958) - a stark and detailed account of the Canadian participation in the Italian campaign. (currently out-of-print, soon to be reissued by McClelland & Stewart in Canada). One of the best and most underrated WWII novels of all.

"STONES" by Timothy Findley (1988). A longish story available in the collection of the same name by one of Canada's best authors. It's a story of a father's failed struggle to come to terms with the disasterous landing at Dieppe.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS by Timothy Findley (1981). A surreal espionage story set in WWII that would appeal to fans of Kurt Vonnegut or John Le Carre.

THE WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT by Hugh MacLennan (1959). A sweeping account of war, political intrigue, and post-war society. Takes in WWI, the Spanish Civil War, and WWII, from the perspective of a troubled protagonist loosely based on battlefield medical innovator Norman Bethune.

OBASAN by Joy Kogawa (1981). The semi-autobiographical novel that shattered Canada's silence about its internment of Japanese Canadian citizens during WWII. Not a war novel, per se, but an important work.

THE WOODEN SWORD by Edward McCourt (1956). A veteran pretends all is well as he tries to reintegrate himself into society, but he is shattered psychologically by his experiences on the Asian front--until he manages to unlock his most traumatic memory.

Non-fiction:
SAINTS, SINNERS & SOLDIERS: CANADA'S SECOND WORLD WAR by Jeffrey A. Keshen. Keshen is one of the best social historians of war from a Canadian perspective. You won't get much military history here--more of an analysis of everyday life/ social conditions in wartime.

NONE IS TOO MANY: CANADA AND THE JEWS OF EUROPE, 1933-1948 by Abella & Troper. This is a disturbing account of how Canada (and its Prime Minister at the time, MacKenzie King) turned a blind eye to the plight of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe, even after Kristallnacht made the impending Holocaust clear to anyone with their eyes open.

CANADA AND THE TWO WORLD WARS by Granatstein and Morton. A good general history covering the two world wars from two of Canada's preeminent historians. The book compiles two earlier titles, Marching to Armaggedon and A Nation Forged in Fire.

That's all for now - Cheers.

[Kiwiwriter]

I'd include the Canadian Official Histories -- great maps, good detail -- and Barry Broadfoot's "Six War Years," for oral history. He also did a book on the experiences of Japanese-Canadians in internment camps. Just got it. Can't remember the name.

[webbhead]

Broadfoot's Years of Sorrow, Years of Shame is the book about Japanese internments you're thinking of. There's also Ken Adachi's history of the internments, The Enemy That Never Was. I agree Broadfoot's work is fascinating. My only beef is that he doesn't credit his contributors. It's a little distasteful to me that he would publish a book under his own name about individual suffering, then omit the names of the individuals who essentially wrote the book for him.

A better example is set by Sylvia Rothchild's Voices From the Holocaust. In her book she credits the contributors and credits herself as "editor" on the cover.

Cheers for the reply...

[Paul Reed]

C.C.Martin's 'Battle Diary' is also an excellent first hand account by a CSM who won the DCM and MM, and served from D Day to Germany. I picked up my copy at the Juno Centre in Normandy a couple of years ago, but I believe it is still in print.

[Kiwiwriter]

Originally posted by webbhead@Dec 4 2004, 08:46 AM
Broadfoot's Years of Sorrow, Years of Shame is the book about Japanese internments you're thinking of. There's also Ken Adachi's history of the internments, The Enemy That Never Was. I agree Broadfoot's work is fascinating. My only beef is that he doesn't credit his contributors. It's a little distasteful to me that he would publish a book under his own name about individual suffering, then omit the names of the individuals who essentially wrote the book for him.

A better example is set by Sylvia Rothchild's Voices From the Holocaust. In her book she credits the contributors and credits herself as "editor" on the cover.

Cheers for the reply...

Quoted post

Yes, it drives me nuts that Broadfoot's contributors are all anonymous, as well. He should put those names in. But thanks for supplying the title.