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Description
This book examines Canada’s collective memory of the First World War through the 1920s and 1930s. It is a cultural history, considering art, music, and literature. Thematically organized into such subjects as the symbolism of the soldier, the implications of war memory for Canadian nationalism, and the idea of a just war, the book draws on military records, memoirs, war memorials, newspaper reports, fiction, popular songs, and films. It takes an unorthodox view of the Canadian war experience as a cultural and philosophical force rather than as a political and military event.
Contributor Notes
Jonathan Vance teaches in the Department of History at the University of Western Ontario. He is the author of Objects of Concern: Canadian Prisoners of War through the Twentieth Century (UBC Press, 1994).
Awards
- Commended, Francois-Xavier Garneau Prize, Canadian Historical Association
- Winner, Charles P. Stacey Award
- Winner, Sir John A. Macdonald Prize, Canadian Historical Association
- Winner, Dafoe Book Prize, J.W. Dafoe Foundation
- Short-listed, Lionel Gelber Prize, Munk Centre for International Studies (Trinity College)
Editorial Reviews
One attractive feature of this book is the illustrations, more than 80 of them, accompanied by excellent captions.
— The Globe and Mail
Jonathan Vance … is to be congratulated on his fine achievement in spelling out how Canadians met this collective need to commemorate their war-time participation, suffering and death … His success in pulling together the previous Canadian writings and sources, including his splendid use of illustrations … is altogether admirable, excellently researched, finely published.
— The Vancouver Sun
Out of print
This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.
