More than 600,000 Canadians served in World War I, and more than 66,000 died. This selection of history books on World War I highlights the role of Canada and Canadians in "the war to end all wars."
Pierre Berton captures what it was like to be one of the men in the mud at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The horror of trench warfare and the greatness of victory at Vimy Ridge in many ways marked Canada's coming of age, and Pierre Berton makes that Canadian history easily accessible to all. Paperback.
Author John Griffith Armstrong uses records of the armed services and other federal government departments to put the Halifax explosion in a national context. This is a fascinating account of the role of navy personnel, bureaucrats and politicians in the Canadian World War I disaster that flattened a good part of Halifax. Hardcover and paperback.
The subtitle of this detailed Canadian history book is "The Canadian Corps and Gas Warfare in the First World War." Author Tim Cook uses diaries, letters and memoirs to bring home the horror of poison gas used on the Western Front in World War I. The book also tells how the Canadian Corps learned to cope and fight with gas warfare, and its post-war legacy. Hardcover and paperback.
In this controversial biography, author Brereton Greenhous shows Canadian World War I war ace Billy Bishop as an airman whose bravery is matched by his story telling abilities. Greenhous claims Bishop received the Victoria Cross for an attack that never happened. It's hard to say if the historical analysis proves the case, but it's an interesting read nonetheless. Hardcover.
