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History Canada

Death So Noble

Memory, Meaning, and the First World War

by (author) Jonathan F. Vance

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
Nov 2011
Category
Canada, General, World War I, General
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774842310
    Publish Date
    Nov 2011
    List Price
    $99.00
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774806015
    Publish Date
    Mar 1997
    List Price
    $41.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774806008
    Publish Date
    Jan 1999
    List Price
    $32.95

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Description

This book examines Canada’s collective memory of the First World War through the 1920s and 1930s. It is a cultural history, considering art, music, and literature. Thematically organized into such subjects as the symbolism of the soldier, the implications of war memory for Canadian nationalism, and the idea of a just war, the book draws on military records, memoirs, war memorials, newspaper reports, fiction, popular songs, and films. It takes an unorthodox view of the Canadian war experience as a cultural and philosophical force rather than as a political and military event.

About the author

Jonathan F. Vance is a native of Waterdown, Ontario, and the author of many books, including award-winners Death So Noble: Memory, Meaning, and the First World War (1997), Unlikely Soldiers: How Two Canadians Fought the Secret War Against Nazi Occupation (2008), and A History of Canadian Culture (2009).

Jonathan F. Vance's profile page

Awards

  • Commended, Francois-Xavier Garneau Prize, Canadian Historical Association
  • Winner, Charles P. Stacey Award
  • Winner, Sir John A. Macdonald Prize, Canadian Historical Association
  • Short-listed, Lionel Gelber Prize, Munk Centre for International Studies (Trinity College)
  • Winner, Dafoe Book Prize, J.W. Dafoe Foundation

Editorial Reviews

Jonathan Vance … is to be congratulated on his fine achievement in spelling out how Canadians met this collective need to commemorate their war-time participation, suffering and death … His success in pulling together the previous Canadian writings and sources, including his splendid use of illustrations … is altogether admirable, excellently researched, finely published.

The Vancouver Sun

One attractive feature of this book is the illustrations, more than 80 of them, accompanied by excellent captions.

The Globe and Mail