Why was Canada not preparing for the Second World War when the rest of the world was ready to meet Hitler’s threats?
Despite Canada’s active participation in the First World War, which many claimed made Canada a nation, the country was almost defenceless in September 1939 when war was declared again.
Larry D. Rose, a long-time journalist and a military specialist, examines the military’s own failures, the hidden agenda of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, and the divisions within Canada leading up to Canada’s entry into the war. He suggests that the lack of preparedness was directly responsible for two of Canada’s costliest military defeats: the battle of Hong Kong and Dieppe.

Larry D. Rose is the author of Mobilize! Why Canada Was Unprepared for the Second World War. His articles have appeared in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, and other publications. He was born in Trail, BC, and has an MA in public administration from the University of Victoria. He worked for 24 years at CTV News, including six years as producer of CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson. Larry lives in Toronto

Larry D. Rose's profile page

J. L. GRANATSTEIN is the author of over 60 books, including the bestsellersWho Killed The Canadian Military? and Whose War Is It?, along withYankee Go Home?, Victory 1945 and The Generals, which won the J. W. Dafoe Prize and the UBC Medal for Canadian Biography. A distinguished research professor of history emeritus at York University, he was a member of the RMC Board of Governors and is chair of the Advisory Council of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute. He lives in Toronto. Visit Granatstein atwww.whosewar.ca.

J.L. Granatstein's profile page

Mobilize! is vivid and wonderfully researched.

Blacklock's Reporter

[Starred Review] The picture Rose paints in the 13 chapters of his book of a Canadian military crippled by governmental foolishness seems oddly familiar to modern eyes; underfunded armed forces and fumbled military acquisitions prove an enduring theme in Canadian history. The author's account is straightforward, well-organized, firmly presented and utterly damning.

Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review