The Captain Calls: 300 Years of Nova Scotia Military History

J.L. Granatstein is a history professor at York University and co-author
of the Dictionary of Canadian Military History and Shadows of War, Faces
of Peace: Canada’s Peacekeepers.

As one of the oldest settled areas of Canada, Nova Scotia has a long
military history. This volume tries to sum up that past by focusing on
key individuals who helped create the province’s—and the
nation’s—military traditions over 300 years. Here we can find
politicians such as Sir Frederick Borden and Col. J.L. Ralston, who, as
defence ministers, played critical roles in building the army. There are
sailors (Adm. Leonard Murray) and soldiers (Gen. Lew MacKenzie), and
goats and heroes. While there is some research here, it is generally
light and there are too many errors of fact and date for the text to be
relied on as a source. Nonetheless, a book of local history such as this
is always useful.