On May 11, 1942, a German U-boat torpedoed SS Nicoya, violently ending a peace in Canada’s waters that stretched back to 1812. By the end of 1944, another 18 merchant ships and four Canadian warships would be destroyed. More than 300 men, women and children—including at least 260 Canadians—died by explosion, fire or icy drowning. Drawing on numerous first-hand accounts from both Canadians and Germans, respected writer and historian Nathan Greenfield has penned a lively, revealing narrative, the first popular account of World War II in Canadian waters. This is a must-read for military history enthusiasts, veterans and their families.
From 1942 to 1944, 15 German submarines destroyed or severely damaged 27 ships, including three Canadian warships, a U.S. Army troop transport, and the Newfoundland ferry Caribou. More than 250 lives were lost. It was the only battle of the twentieth century to take place within Canada’s boundaries, and the only battle to be fought almost exclusively by Canadian forces under Canadian, rather than alliance, high command. And for more than 40 years the battle was characterized as a Canadian defeat. But was it a defeat? Drawing on new material from wartime records—including ultra-top-secret Allied decryptions of German naval radio communications, Roger Sarty shows that Canada mounted a successful defence with far fewer resources and in the face of much greater challenges than previously known. He draws vivid pictures of the intense combat on Canada’s shores and the interplay of the St Lawrence battle with war politics in Ottawa, Washington and London. At the same time, he weaves a second story: how researchers reassembled the scattered war records in Canada, Britain, the United States and Germany and brought the long-forgotten battle to life for new generations of Canadians and international audiences.
"The Thousand Islands' very name conjures up images of great natural beauty and nautical wonders. They are forested islands replete with storybook stone castles. Exquisite mahogany runabouts can be seen speeding across the placid surface of the mighty St. Lawrence. Names like Boldt, Bourne, Emery, Lyon, and Pullman are embedded in the Golden Age of the area, and it all comes to life in this pictorial history of the river. Images of America: Wooden Boats of the St. Lawrence River tells the story of the rich and powerful men who constructed castles and built classic wooden boats in the Thousand Islands. At the center of the story loom David and Charlie Lyon. A descendant of the Lyon family, David Kunz, tells this story through historical photographs. David is the great-great-nephew of Charles Potter Lyon and Helen Griffin Lyon. Bill Simpson, whose first visit to the Thousand Islands was in the fall of 1976, is a novelist and publisher of Simpson Books. The majority of the photographs in this book are from the Lyon Archives on Oak Island"--
It was a megaproject half a century in the making -- a technological and engineering marvel that stands as one of the most ambitious borderlands undertakings ever embarked upon by two countries. The planning and building of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project is one of the defining episodes in North American history. The project began with transnational negotiations that spanned two world wars and the formative years of the Cold War and included a failed attempt to construct an all-Canadian seaway, which was scuttled by US national security fears. Once an agreement was reached, the massive engineering and construction operation began, as did the efforts to move people and infrastructure away from the thousands of acres of land that would soon be flooded. Negotiating a River looks at the profound impacts of this megaproject, from the complex diplomatic negotiations, political manoeuvring, and environmental diplomacy to the implications on national identities and transnational relations.
A long held secret of the Second World War was German U-Boat activity in the St. Lawrence River. This is its history, one of shortsighted governments, advanced submarine technology and the heroism of the defenders.
Christopher D. Dishman provides a comprehensive study of the combat that took place along the US-Canadian frontier during the War of 1812, where the bulk of the war’s fighting took place. The border region, which included the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes, served as Britain’s supply line to receive and distribute supplies. The region’s size, varied topography, and undeveloped infrastructure, however, made this a challenging environment to move troops and supplies to the battlefield. Few large settlements or all-season roads intersected the region, so reinforcements, food, or ammunition could be weeks or months away from their destination. Dishman analyzes the critical role of logistics and explains how the safe and timely arrival of soldiers, shipwrights, cannons, and other provisions often dictated a battle’s outcome before a shot was fired. The northern frontier between the United States and the British Empire remained the focus of US military efforts throughout the war. The president and Congress declared war on Britain to force its leaders to negotiate on bilateral issues, and America’s only viable offensive military option was to invade Canada. Victory for either side depended on enough men and materials arriving promptly at a remote outpost or dockyard from distant supply depots. Canada could not produce many of its needed items in-country, so America retained a distinct advantage with its indigenous metalworks and iron industries. These components proved critical in a war that depended on the rushed construction of vessels that could outgun their enemy. Warfare and Logistics along the US-Canadian Border during the War of 1812 is a deeply researched and highly readable assessment of the successes and failures of military operations from 1812 to 1814. The book also highlights the interdependencies between land and naval operations in the war and illuminates the influence of changing military and political factors on Britain's and America’s military objectives. Warfare and Logistics along the US-Canadian Border during the War of 1812 also evaluates the performance of the military and civilian officers as Dishman brings a distant war’s battles to life with stories from participating soldiers and civilians.
A detailed history of the naval battles fought by Canadians during the Second World War, based on an extensive use of primary source material and personal accounts.
The U-boats constituted a serious threat to North American security and a major challenge to coastal and convoy defence. Hadley reveals the military and political impact on Canada of in-shore submarine warfare and vibrantly documents the successful German strategy of deploying daring long-range solo sorties to pin down the enemy close to home.
One of the Best Books of the Year: The Christian Science Monitor NPR The Seattle Times St. Louis Post-Dispatch Chicago Tribune A New York Times Notable Book Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography The Arab Revolt against the Turks in World War I was, in the words of T. E. Lawrence, “a sideshow of a sideshow.” As a result, the conflict was shaped to a remarkable degree by a small handful of adventurers and low-level officers far removed from the corridors of power. At the center of it all was Lawrence himself. In early 1914 he was an archaeologist excavating ruins in Syria; by 1917 he was riding into legend at the head of an Arab army as he fought a rearguard action against his own government and its imperial ambitions. Based on four years of intensive primary document research, Lawrence in Arabia definitively overturns received wisdom on how the modern Middle East was formed.
