About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Description
How could you and your family survive a nuclear war? From 1945 to 1963, the Canadian government developed civil defence plans to save lives in bombed cities, evacuate target areas, and encouraged the public to build basement fallout shelters. By the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the civil defence program was widely mocked, and the public was still vastly unprepared for nuclear war. Give Me Shelter features recently released documents detailing Canada’s nuclear survival plans. Andrew Burtch reveals how, through public appeals, the department urged citizens to assume responsibility for disaster preparation, a tactic that ultimately failed. An exposé of the challenges of educating the public on the threat of nuclear annihilation, this book illuminates Canada’s Cold War home front like never before.
Contributor Notes
Andrew Burtch is the historian for the post-1945 period at the Canadian War Museum.
Awards
- Commended, The Hill Times List of Top 100 Best Books
- Winner, C.P. Stacey Award for scholarly work in Canadian Military History
Editorial Review
Luckily, the Soviets never did bomb us or we would not be around to read Give Me Shelter, an extremely detailed and shocking analysis of how a government and its people failed to connect and collaborate on one of the most important issues facing the world during the Cold War … the book is scarier than science fiction because it shows how unprepared we were to save our own skin had the Russians ever decided to attack.
— The Ottawa Citizen
