World Affairs: Defining Canada's Role

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

How did Sir Joseph Flavelle, multimillionaire pork packer and public
servant, go from national hero to social outcast in one year? When did
Zombies defend Canada from invasion? How did an Anglo-French invasion of
Egypt plant the seeds for Canada’s maple leaf flag? These are just a
few of the fascinating topics explored in this very engaging book about
the evolution of Canada as a military power in the 20th century.

Complex issues that lead to Canadian soldiers’ going to war are
concisely explained in terms of political movements, public moods, and
leading personalities of each era. To keep the prose from bogging down
in minutiae, the text is supported by numerous sidebars, photographs,
and illustrations. Canada’s celebrated victory at Vimy Ridge, for
example, is offset by a photo of a grief-battered Canadian mother
bravely wearing the medals of her eight sons who died in the war.

The book’s timeline runs from the Quebec anti–Boer War riots of
1900 to the Somalia Inquiry of 1996, spanning nearly a century in which
Canada transformed itself from a British colony to an independent
nation. Diverse issues, including war profiteering, national unity,
conscription, women’s rights, racism, and peacekeeping, are skilfully
interwoven to produce a broad-ranging yet cohesive text. Because the
text challenges readers to form their own opinions, this book will be an
excellent tool for teachers to use to prompt student discussions. Highly
recommended.