Regimental fighting units, suggests historian David J. Bercuson, do something that no other group can: they nurture their members as they proceed into the unnatural world of war, putting their lives on the line for the lives of others. Regiments are constructed clans, with proud histories and traditions that are impenetrable to outsiders but essential to the morale of those who are a part of their ranks. Canada’s most famous regiments—such as the Vandoos, the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, the Hasty P’s—are well known to many of us, but what is less known is how Canada’s regiments have shaped and been shaped by our military past. Beginning with Iroquois war bands and the arrival in 1665 of the Régiment Carignan- Salières—“The Good Regiment” dispatched by Louis XIV to the colony of New France—Bercuson recounts a proud history that extends through the War of 1812 and the Fenian Raids to the Boer War. He tracks the regiments of the First World War and the development of the modern regimental system, through to the Second World War and the Korean War. Finally, he investigates the peacekeeping years to the current operations in Afghanistan. This comprehensive regimental history is a lively, fascinating chronicle of tradition, achievement and sometimes catastrophe. Through the eyes of many prominent regiments, Bercuson looks at the broader culture of bonding and loyalty that is underappreciated outside of the military, yet second nature within it. Anyone with an interest in Canada’s rich military history or a personal connection to the soldiers who have fought for this country—past or present—will appreciate this stirring account of Canada’s frontline forces.

The Fighting Canadians

History

Bercuson, David

Americas

HarperCollins, Publishers

1st Weidenfeld &amp; Nicolson 2005 hardcover edition 1st print fine condition book fine dw. In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

One Christmas in Washington: The Secret Meeting Between Roosevelt & Churchill That Changed the World

Herwig, Holger

Harry N. Abrams

Deadly Seas: The Duel Between The St.Croix And The U305 In The Battle Of Atlantic

Herwig, Holger H.

Random House Canada

Book by Bercuson, David; Bothwell, Robert; Granatstein, Jack L.

Petrified Campus

Education & Teaching

Higher & Continuing Education

A brilliant work of naval history, Deadly Seas tells the dramatic story of the birth, life, and death of two wartime vessels, one Allied, the other Axis, and, through them, the larger story of the epic Battle of the Atlantic itself.

Deadly Seas: The Duel Between The St.Croix And The U305 In The Battle Of The Atlantic

Military

Vintage Canada

Book by Bercuson, David; Bothwell, Robert; Granatstein, J.L.

Petrified Campus: The Crisis In Canada's Universities

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

The Canadian army is in crisis. Its command structure is ineffective. Its soldiers are demoralized. Its equipment is outmoded and inadequate for many of the tasks to which it is assigned. The causes of the problem can be traced to a number of sources, including political indecision, peacetime neglect, and budgetary cutbacks. But, perhaps most crucially, the ability of the army to carry out its essential function, which is to maintain the capacity to fight wars, has been undermined by the process of bureaucratization initiated by passage of the Unification Act of 1968 and reinforced by later structural changes. This process has transformed and disfigured the military command structure at every level, from the Chief of Defence Staff to the so-called Hellyer corporal, with disastrous results. The dreadful torture and murder of a teenager in Somalia was significant precisely because it showed how badly morale and discipline have deteriorated in Canada’s army. In Significant Incident, David Bercuson gives readers a rare inside look at the state of our armed forces. He draws on historical sources, leaked documents, material submitted to the Commission of Inquiry into the Somalia Affair, and on scores of exclusive interviews. He uses this material to describe today’s army, both on duty in Bosnia, for example, and on the home front. It is against this multifaceted background that the deterioration of a proud regiment, the Canadian Airborne, and its ill-fated mission to Somalia begins to make sense. Significant Incident will be welcomed by soldiers, but will send shockwaves through the media, the military high command, and political circles.

Significant Incident: Canada's Army, the Airborne, and the Murder in Somalia

MCCLELLAND STEWART

Great Brain Robbery

Granatstein, J.L.

Social Sciences

The World in Canada: Diaspora, Demography, and Domestic Politics

In response to these questions, contributors trace changes in Canada's demographic make-up, explore the relationship between domestic politics and Canadian foreign policy across the fields of diplomacy, development, defense and security, and immigration, and determine the extent to which Quebec's sensibilities to international issues differ from those of the rest of the country. The World in Canada argues that, under certain conditions, the motivation to pursue certain policy choices arises as much from domestic considerations as from the international conditions associated with them.

CARMENT, DAVID

McGill-Queen's University Press

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Books by Bercuson, David