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One night in 1944, eighty airmen escaped a German POW compound in Poland. The event became known as "The Great Escape." Ted Barris writes of the planners, task leaders, and key players in the escape attempt, those who got away, those who didn't, and their families at home.
National Bestseller Foreword by Peter Mansbridge “Barris tells the jaw-dropping story of a night that changed the war.” —The Globe and Mail It was a night that changed the Second World War. The secret air raid against the hydroelectric dams of Germany’s Ruhr River took years to plan, involved an untried bomb and included the best aircrewmen RAF Bomber Command could muster—many of them Canadian. The attack marked the first time the Allies tactically took the war inside Nazi Germany. It was a military operation that became legendary. On May 16, 1943, nineteen Lancaster bombers carrying 133 airmen took off on a night sortie code-named Operation Chastise. Hand-picked and specially trai...
On June 6, 1944, nearly 15,000 Canadians – at sea, in the air, and on the ground – joined the long-anticipated D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe on the Normandy beaches. The piece of ground on which the Canadians fought so hard against heavily armed and embedded German troops was codenamed Juno. On that day, the Canadian infantry fought their way farther inland than any other Allied troops. For Canada, and all Canadians, this was a coming of age, an extraordinary moment of courage and sacrifice. On the eve of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, Barris takes us back to those momentous few hours that forever changed the course of our history in the voices of those who were there. In what m...
Between 1950 and 1953, nearly 30,000 Canadian volunteers joined the effort to contain communist incursions into South Korea and support the fledgling United Nations. All the services were there and all served with distinction. The Royal Canadian Navy led a daring rescue of troops from the port of Chinnampo in 1950; members of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry won the highest US battle honour at Kap’yong in April 1951; the Vandoos turned the tide at Hill 355; and twice – at Hill 355 in October 1952 and Hill 187 in May 1953 – members of the Royal Canadian Regiment held firm against forces that greatly outnumbered them. The navy and the infantry were bolstered by the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and Lord Strathcona’s Horse tanks, as well as members of the service, medical, engineers, provost, chaplain and intelligence corps. Still more, from the RCAF Thunderbird Squadron, took part in the Korean Airlift – three years of non-stop supply flights across the Pacific.
2014 Libris Award — Joint Winner, Non-Fiction Book of the Year Globe and Mail Bestseller Toronto Star Bestseller A unique retelling of WWII’s most dramatic escape, told through first-hand recollections of the soldiers who experienced it. On the night of March 24, 1944, eighty airmen crawled through a 400-foot-long tunnel, code-named "Harry," and dashed from Stalag Luft III, the infamous WWII German POW camp. It became known as The Great Escape. The breakout had taken a year to plan, involved 2,000 POWs, and prompted a massive manhunt across occupied Europe. All but three escapees were recaptured, and on Hitler’s orders, fifty were murdered. Bestselling author Ted Barris revisits the story made famous by the 1963 movie. But he recounts this battle of wits and determination through the voices of those involved. Drawing on the experiences of forty years of experience as a journalist, broadcaster, and historian, Barris assembles original interviews, memoirs, letters, diaries, and personal photos to reconstruct the Great Escape’s untold story.
Drawing on his fifty years as an award-winning journalist and author of some of the finest books on Canadian history, Pierre Berton has written a witty and practical guide for writers. With almost every book a bestseller, clearly this writer knows what it takes to succeed in the publishing world. From the all-important rule of “knowing your audience” and other essential writing tips to down-to-earth advice on dealing with agents, publishers, and editors, The Joy of Writing covers every aspect of non-fiction writing and includes interviews with twenty-seven of Canada’s leading writers. Illustrated with more than thirty manuscript pages from Pierre Berton’s own works. Includes Interviews With: Alex Barris • Ted Barris • Jack Batten • Fred Bodsworth • June Callwood • Stevie Cameron • Robert Collins • Elaine Dewar • Will Ferguson • Trent Frayne • Bob Fulford • Charlotte Gray • Richard Gwyn • Stephen Kimber • Ken McGoogan • Roy McGregor • Linda McQuaig • Farley Mowat • Knowlton Nash • Peter Newman • Stephanie Nolen • John Sawatsky • Russell Smith • Edna Staebler • Walter Stewart • Betty Jane Wylie • Jan Wong
At a time of great sacrifice in Canadian history, we are welcomed into the homes, the hearts, and the minds of mothers, sons, fathers, and friends as we follow Syd Smith and his high-school brotherhood of 13 when they answer the call to duty in 1941. Written with his son, David, Lifting the Silence is also a father-and-son journey of discovery that uncovers a remarkable letter that serves as testament to what still defines Canada today. Postmarked "France August 1946," the fragile letter bares the soul of a people beaten down by cruel times and extols their admiration and gratitude for Canada as a nation of spiritual and economic resources that helped them out so much during the war. Within the letter as well, a heartfelt and strikingly prophetic expression of hope to once again receive the downed pilot they had sheltered in 1942. As if by Providence, this letter now serves to reunite Syd with his angel of the French Resistance 61 years later.
Years before railroads arrived, the Canadian West was opened up by an unlikely breed of ship: steamboats plying Prairie waterways. Their aboriginal pilots, experts at reading the tricky waterways, called the ships “fire canoes.” By day they chased freight contracts, but at night they introduced the Edwardian Prairies to pleasure cruises.
Bessner conducted hundreds of interviews and extensive archival research to paint a complex picture of the role of Canadian Jews in the war effort.
The behind-the-scenes story of the making of the classic television series offers insight into how the influential show reflected changing American perspectives and was a first situation comedy to employ numerous women as writers and producers.