Website Book Reviews
A Nation Forged in Fire; Canadians and the Second World War 1939-1945
by J. L. Granatstein and Desmond Morton - Published by Lester and Orphen Dennys Ltd., 1989 - 287 pages
The book gives a detailed overview of the war in its nine chapters, which are titled as follows:
I - To War Once More
II - War at Home and Abroad 1940-42
III - Action Stations: The Wavy Navy at War
IV - Per Ardua Ad Astra: the RCAF at War
V - Sicily and Italy
VI - Changes at Home
VII - The Normandy Campaign
VIII - Victory
IX - A Nation Forged in Fire
Although most of the book is about the conflicts overseas, there is some good information about life on the home front. The second chapter includes a section about the war economy and the controversy over whether to use conscripts overseas. Chapter Six is devoted to the positive changes that took place in Canada's social welfare program and the country's emerging status in the world. The last chapter expresses the authors' conclusion that, "The Second World War was a just war."
Three appendices list the RCN ships, RCAF squadrons, and the major Army divisions.
There are many photos and images and a good index.
