Just wondering, anyone got any titles they think stand out among the usual clutter. To start off with, I want to mention .... The Maple Leaf Route series The Canadians at War by Reader's Digest (I have the older version). The D-Day Dogers (Italian committment) The Long Left Flank Meeting of Generals ...there now that I have said those ones, I am open to offerings that go beyond that list. I am ideally preferring titles on sale now in conventional bookstores.
Charlie Martin's Battle Diary is one of the best WW2 memoirs I have read in a long time; I bought a copy at the Juno Centre last year. I am currently reading Terry Copp's new book Fields of Fire which is about the Canadians in Normandy - an excellent read so far. Do you know where I can get the Maple Leaf books? Are they still in print in Canada?
You can still pick these up s/h - I just looked via the s/h search on my website and there seems a few around. As for other titles of canadian origin I cannot offer any others as yet so instead just place this image Ryan
Originally posted by Les the Sarge 9-1@Jun 17 2004, 03:36 PM Just wondering, anyone got any titles they think stand out among the usual clutter. To start off with, I want to mention .... The Maple Leaf Route series The Canadians at War by Reader's Digest (I have the older version). The D-Day Dogers (Italian committment) The Long Left Flank Meeting of Generals ...there now that I have said those ones, I am open to offerings that go beyond that list. I am ideally preferring titles on sale now in conventional bookstores. Farley Mowatt, who later became a well known naturalist/wild life author, wrote a couple of books about his experiences as a Canadian infantry officer in WW2. The first is called something like "And No Birds Sang", and is about him joining up, going to England and then to Sicily and Italy. The second book is about the latter part of the war, Italy and then NW Europe, but I have a mental block about the second's title. Can anyone else remember? "The Long Road Home: The Autobiography of a Canadian Soldier in Italy in WW2" is about a Canadian infantryman, who ended up as a Sgt in a Canadian Highland Regiment in Italy. The author is Fred Cederberg - not even MacCederberg! This is a fairly recent book, and mentions things that would, possibly, have been left out of older memoirs eg the unit machine gunning civilian refugees trying to pass through the lines in the mountains and some soldiers manning the mortars and killing a number of civilians in the Italian town in which they were based.
Originally posted by BeppoSapone+Jun 18 2004, 05:02 AM-->(BeppoSapone @ Jun 18 2004, 05:02 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'> <!--QuoteBegin-Les the Sarge 9-1@Jun 17 2004, 03:36 PM Just wondering, anyone got any titles they think stand out among the usual clutter. To start off with, I want to mention .... The Maple Leaf Route series The Canadians at War by Reader's Digest (I have the older version). The D-Day Dogers (Italian committment) The Long Left Flank Meeting of Generals ...there now that I have said those ones, I am open to offerings that go beyond that list. I am ideally preferring titles on sale now in conventional bookstores. Farley Mowatt, who later became a well known naturalist/wild life author, wrote a couple of books about his experiences as a Canadian infantry officer in WW2. The first is called something like "And No Birds Sang", and is about him joining up, going to England and then to Sicily and Italy. The second book is about the latter part of the war, Italy and then NW Europe, but I have a mental block about the second's title. Can anyone else remember? "The Long Road Home: The Autobiography of a Canadian Soldier in Italy in WW2" is about a Canadian infantryman, who ended up as a Sgt in a Canadian Highland Regiment in Italy. The author is Fred Cederberg - not even MacCederberg! This is a fairly recent book, and mentions things that would, possibly, have been left out of older memoirs eg the unit machine gunning civilian refugees trying to pass through the lines in the mountains and some soldiers manning the mortars and killing a number of civilians in the Italian town in which they were based. [/b]There are a lot of copies of "The Long Road Home" for sale on AbeBooks. Some fairly cheap, but most are in north America making postage a factor. Here is what one seller says about the book. "Book Description: Toronto Ontario Canada: Stoddart Publishing Co Ltd, 2000. Soft Cover. New. Private Press. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Prices in US Dollars Canadian Res add 7% GST to sale price. Naples, Ortona, Senio River, Rome Coriano Ridge, The Naviglio. These are the places burned into the memories of many veterans of the Italian Theatre in WWII. Here is the infantryman's story - the coal miner from Cape Breton, the fisherman from the west coast, the hayshaker from the prairies - as told through the eyes of Sgt. Fred Cederberg of the Cape Breton Highlanders and Lanark and Renfrew Scottish. This is the classic tale of the specil bond formed by a group of raw young soldiers thousands of miles from wives, girlfriends, and families, many free for the first time to experience life, as they constantly faced death."
I have just reading Caen: The Anvil of Victory by Alexander McKee, first published 1964. It contains quite a lot about Juno beach and the Canadian role in Normandy and relies very heavily on personal accounts. Perhaps because it was written much closer in time to the events, it gives a much sharper picture of "being there" than many later accounts.
Mark Zuehlke has written three books on the Canadians involvement in the Italian Campaign during World War 2, Ortona, Liri Valley and The Gothic Line. His newest book is on D-Day, Canadians at Juno Beach.
I have just read 'stand-by to beach' by Gordon Holman a reporter assigned aboard the Hilary so it covers the Canadians involvement in D-Day in great detail. There is also 'Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy' Ryan
Another good Canadian writing pair are the late Denis and Shelagh Whitaker. They did excellent books on Dieppe, the Rhineland battle, and the Walcheren/Antwerp battles. Dieppe Rhineland Tug of War are the titles. Zuehlke is superb -- I have to get his Gothic Line book. The Canadian Official Histories are very good. I have the army volumes: Six Years of War The Italian Campaign The March to Victory Great books, fine maps. They even describe San Marino's role in the war. The Far Distant Ships is the Navy volume. It's pretty good.
Sicily "The line between brutal murder and heroic slaughter flickers and wavers…and becomes invisible” Farley Mowat Excerpt From Through Blood and Sweat - Zuehlke
Terry Copp's sequel to Fields of Fire is Cinderella Army (covers battles in NWE after Normandy) and I would also recommend it. Farley Mowat's other book mentioned above is a regimental history of the "Hasty Ps" titled simply The Regiment. It was pretty good.
A Thousand Must Fall by Murray Peden, RCAF, is a must read for anyone interested in Bomber Command. A gripping book that has garnered many glowing reviews. "I consider it not only the best and most true to life 'war' book I've ever read about this war, but the best about all the wars of my lifetime" -Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Sir Arthur Harris. ".... Murray Peden's A Thousand Shall Fall is, in my view, the best personal experience account of Bomber Command which I have ever seen. The author's power of recall is astonishing and also extremely accurate. He conveys, in a completely authentic manner not only the activities of Bomber Command but the flavour of life for the air crews who served in it. "Murray Peden is not only a first class eye witness of the events and experiences which he describes but he is also a most gifted writer whose language it is a joy to read." -Dr. Noble Frankland CBE DFC, Imperial War Museum. "The best book any Canadian has written about his war experiences, and one of the best books about the war that has been written anywhere" -The Canadian Historical Review
