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
During the Second World War, Canadian factories produced mountains of munitions and supplies, including some 800 ships, 16,000 aircraft, 800,000 vehicles, and over 4.6 billion rounds of ammunition and artillery shells. However, the end of hostilities in 1945 turned the leftover assets into peacetime liabilities. Alex Souchen provides a definitive account of the disposal crisis triggered by Allied victory and shows how Canadians responded to the unprecedented divestment of public property by reusing and recycling military surpluses to improve their postwar lives. War Junk recounts the complex political, economic, social, and environmental legacies of munitions disposal in Canada by revealing how the tools of war became integral to the making of postwar Canada.
Contributor Notes
Alex Souchen is a historian specializing in warfare, society, and the environment in Canada, based in Kingston. He received his PhD from the University of Western Ontario and held a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies. He currently holds an Associated Medical Services Postdoctoral Fellowship at Trent University’s Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies.
Awards
- Commended, C.P. Stacey Award
Editorial Reviews
Alex Souchen’s fine work speaks to the enormous economic, political, as well as environmental consequences of wartime disposal. The breadth of this work is truly impressive.
— University of Toronto Quarterly
War Junk makes an entirely fresh contribution to a growing body of scholarship on Canada and war in the twentieth century.
— Andrew Iarocci, Canadian Military History
