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Review by Scott Taylor
As the author of a half dozen books, producer of numerous documentaries and writer of an endless stream of periodical features over the past two decades, Ted Barris has etched a name for himself as one of Canada’s foremost popular historians. While his previous titles have told the tales of epic battles – such as Vimy Ridge, and the D-Day landings through the personal recollection of the participants, Breaking the Silence is something of a departure from this format. While still giving voice to the veterans who experienced the hell, horror and humanity of war, Barris also weaves the story of getting the story into the mix. As a result, this partial memoir takes readers into the world of the historian as he plies his trade eliciting stories from those who lived them. As evidenced by his own father’s reluctance to disclose his wartime heroism as a World War II U.S. Army medic, Barris recognizes that breaking down the barriers to reopen a veteran’s emotional vault is not always an easy achievement.
Through his dedication over the years to educating Canadians about not only our collective martial heritage, but also the importance of recognizing past valour, Barris had undoubtedly earned the trust of the veterans. From his radio broadcasts on the CBC, contributions to the Globe and Mail, battlefield tours and countless speeches to associations and schools Barris, details his extensive interaction with the military community. It is from this template of his personal recollections that he then segues into the wartime reminiscence of his subjects. Naturally enough, many of the anecdotes in the new book came as a result of the research for his previous titles. As such, Breaking the Silence is in some ways the equivalent of a math student showing the process by which they attained the end result.
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Review by Scott Taylor
This personal reflection on life lessons learned and leadership skills by one of Canada’s most famous generals could best be summed up by Popeye the Sailor Man’s famous quip, “I yam what I yam!”
Lewis MacKenzie does not have aspirations of becoming a pontificating philosopher or pointy-headed academic. Soldiering was his life and his ability to lead soldiers in action was his talent.
In chronicling his childhood upbringing in rural Nova Scotia, MacKenzie reveals that sports, cars and the opposite sex were his primary life motivators, with only a shift in their priority as he entered young adulthood. What would result in a 36-year military career and the rank of major-general began with MacKenzie taking a summer job with the Canadian officer training corps. His father had enlisted during the Second World War and re-enlisted during Korea as a regular force combat engineer. Although the elder MacKenzie never saw action, he did attain the rank of sergeant-major, and as a base brat young Lewis was well acclimatized to the military culture.
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Review by Alex Davis
Highway of Heroes: True Patriot Love is the story about Highway 401 since dubbed the “Highway of Heroes” and the grassroots movement that attracted international attention.
Highway of Heroes is an illustrative book written by photo-journalist Pete Fisher, who has personally investigated the phenomenon of the Highway of Heroes. In it, he tells the story of the highway and the Canadian soldiers who took that last trip home, as well as the hundreds of ordinary Canadians who lined the highway bridges to pay their respects. In Highway of Heroes, Pete Fisher interviews the families of the Canadian soldiers killed in the Afghanistan war, tells the history of Highway 401; from the first four soldiers killed in 2004 to the official naming of the highway in 2007 and the soldiers who have been killed since then. Highway of Heroes is also filled with compelling and emotional images personally taken by Pete Fisher, of the prestigious highway and the people who paid their respects to the soldiers.
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Review By Alex Davis
Nine Hours: the Canadians at Dieppe is a massive, historical recollection of the Canadian tragedy that was the1942 raid on Dieppe, the many initiatives by the allies to invade mainland Europe, and the aftermath of their first major attempt. Though the title would suggest a short, patriotic account of the brutal nine hours of Operation Jubilee, this book encompasses a much wider picture of the conditions surrounding the Dieppe raid, and the eventual decision that led to it. In Nine Hours, author William D. Mathieson goes into detail on Canada’s war, the battle of Atlantic, and the tense, uncertain atmosphere that gripped the Allied countries in 1942.
As compared to other history books about Canadian wars, Nine Hours is one of the most well researched, thoroughly referenced and sourced accounts of a particular battle that I have ever read. William D. Mathieson has used nearly every source of historical information available; from Regimental diaries to other historical texts and even the personal journals of the soldiers who were there. Each source is used and each provides another unique perspective on the story. It is a meticulously well planned and well supported book. If it was his goal to ensure that no one could discredit his fact-finding abilities, he has evidently succeeded.
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Review by Alex Davis
Defence & Discovery: Canada’s Military Space Program, 1945-74 written by Andrew B. Godefroy studies the history of Canada’s undertakings in military space research, and its contributions to space exploration throughout the Cold War of the 20th century. In it, Godefroy meticulously plots Canada’s involvement in space research; from the first northern Canada study of meteorological magnetic and aurora phenomena in 1882, to the creation of a network of satellites driven by Charles Drury, built to facilitate a network of communications around the globe. Defence & Discovery is a scientifically written and thoroughly researched look at Canada’s gifts to the field of space exploration.
In Defence & Discovery Godefroy, looks at the history of Canadian exploration and weaponization of space from the end of the Second World War, to the first Canadian space policy in 1974. The book is a scientific study in every sense of the word, each section with a wealth of information and historical references. Yet despite the scientific style of writing, Godefroy manages to claw through the date to tell a story; the story of Canada’s exploitation of space, as well as the history of Canadian science and technology in the backdrop of the smoldering cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Godefroy goes into depth on the ‘space race’ between the two super powers, and how the struggle to project earthly power into space became the forerunner for the modern space programs of today.
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