Quote:
Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler
OT, the no WW I/WW II instruction is mind-boggling. Only the 2 most important events of the 20th century, not to mention the only 2 interesting bits of Canada's otherwise boring history. Luckily for Maks the Impaler, I have a large library of military history, so he'll have to learn it at home, and I'll just phone him in sick when his classmates are studying aboriginal relations or whatever in SS.  I reckon I'll start him off with AJP Taylor's classic The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848-1918 at age 4. That should lay the necessary groundwork...
Sorry, back to scheduled programming... |
I guess it depends on how deep you want to get Jack L Granenstein wrote an excellent entire history of the Canadian Armed Forces, I would recommend getting into that.
There are also some outstanding map books on Canadian Actions in WW1 and 2, they work really well in concert with whatever books that your reading.
I'm a fairly big buff on WW2, I just picked up a history of the Canadian Navy in the Atlantic in WW2.
For a on the ground feel of the Italian Campaign, Farley Mowats "And no Birds sang" Captured the war experience, that book works well with "My fathers son" which were the letters back and forth between Mowat and his family.
Deadlock in Korea takes a really good look at Canada's role in the Korean conflict, which is very important.
How I learned to Love the bomb, is a book about Canada's Nuclear Weapons program during the Cold War.
I also think its important to read major biographies on the major leaders in the war. Stalin, Hitler, Churchill, FDR can help you get into. there was another book about the Allied Military Command structure between countries that laid out how the allies didn't really get along all that well. I can get you the name of the book tonight if you want it.