Dieppe, the Battle of Hong Kong, the Mora River Campaign, the Invasion of Normandy, the Siege of Dunkirk, — battles not as distant as we may think. The constant gunfire, the whistle of bombs, the hiss of gas, the cold, the wet, the fear, the loneliness, and the anguish of losing friends and colleagues.

Outside of the military, no one can quite imagine how the soldiers endured all of this. But endure they did. Canadians fought on several fronts during World War II, proving the mettle of soldiers, airmen, and their commanders. Canadians at War Vol. 2: A Guide to the Battlefields and Memorials of World War II, a follow-up to Susan Evans Shaw's guidebook to the battlefields and memorials of World War I, takes its readers on a tour of the places where the Canadians fought, and died — the battlefields, memorials, and cemeteries scattered throughout Europe and the Far East.

Beginning with an introduction on the preparations for war, the book heads first to Hong Kong before returning to the invasion at Dieppe. From there, we follow the Canadian troops through Italy as they push towards Rome and then through Northwest Europe. The Invasion of Normandy and the Liberation of Holland lead up to the final days of the war. Supplemented with many maps and photographs, Canadians at War Vol. 2 also includes chapters on the Canadian Forestry Group, sappers at Gibraltar, the Canadian Women's Army Corps Overseas, Canada's chemical and biological warfare program, and prisoners of war. This volume is a must-have for those interested in heritage tourism and World War II and for the families of veterans and is an ideal complement to Evans Shaw's World War I companion volume.

Susan Evans Shaw was born in North Bay, Ontario, grew up in Sudbury and Port Credit, was educated at Queen's and McMaster universities, and settled in Hamilton in the early 1970s. She worked, until 1999, as a research technician in health sciences at McMaster University. Research skills she learned in those years were easy to translate to history. Reading and writing about the First World War — and the part Canadians played — broadened her interest in Canada's place on the world stage. Following the publication of Canadians at War: A Guide to the Battlefields of World War I, Susan considered turning her attentions to World War II — a war in which the part Canada played is even less known. Positive reception of her book by reviewers and travellers played a part in her deciding to write a second volume. However the main impetus came from the younger members of her family who pressed her for a book about the Canadians in World War II, a war they knew only through British and American films and television. Once she started her research, she discovered the range of territory was vast. Memorials that honour Canadian soldiers, sailors, and airmen can be seen in Vancouver, Ottawa, and Halifax; listed among Allied Forces at Runnymede and Brookwood memorials in England; memorialized at Hong Kong, in Italy, in Normandy, and in Holland. Yet, as with the Great War, there is a dearth of material for the Canadian traveller. Her intent is for a Canadian-focussed single volume to fill the gap. Susan is a member of the organizing committee for Hamilton's monthly reading series, Lit Live, and a member of the programming committee for Hamilton's literary festival, gritLIT, as well as co-chair of Hamilton Art Council's Literary Arts Committee. She is also a member of Pen Canada and the Writers' Union of Canada. Susan lives in Hamilton.

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