National Network for Equitable Library Service

The Difficult War: Perspectives on Insurgency and Special Operations Forces is a collection of essays that deals with theoretical concepts related to insurgency as well as to the practice of irregular warfare. Since special operations forces are such an integral element to counter-insurgency, this volume also contains a large SOF component. Importantly, this book will assist the practitioner of the profession of arms to understand insurgency or, perhaps more accurately, counter-insurgency and those components that are germane to its practice.

A stalwart Tory, Stan Darling was a Member of Parliament for twenty-one years. In The Darling Diaries, he looks back on his career in politics, the places he has been, and some of the people he has met — Libyan dictator Gaddafi, President Bush, and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Never afraid of the press or anyone else foolish enough to quarrel with him, he strenuously advocated (and got) controls on the emissions which cause acid rain — for which he earned the nickname Mr. Acid Rain. He helped to get a free vote on the death penalty in Parliament.

For well of a hundred years, Canadians and Americans have crossed the border that separates their two countries to serve in one another’s armed forces. The American Civil War, the two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War - Cross-Border Warriors presents anecdotes, letters, and diaries by or about individuals who left family and native land to engage in these far-away struggles.

This book is part of the Towards the New Millennium Series, featuring the works of thoughtful Canadians who are profoundly interested in the future of Canada and the world. Most democracies do not use Canada’s "first past the post" voting system. To give a party more seats than its share of the popular vote warrants is deemed undemocratic by most. Such democracies use proportional representation to ensure a party’s seat-share does not exceed its vote-share. Former MLA, Nick Loenen, examines what proportional representation can do for Canadian politics.

Ce sont les hommes qui ont dirigé notre nation en temps de guerre et en temps de paix. Au cours des deux grandes guerres, ces hommes ont fait preuve d’une force à toute épreuve, qui a guidé nos troupes vers la victoire. Dans le cadre d’opérations de maintien de la paix, ils ont contribué à établir et à maintenir l’ordre. Au cours des ans, ils ont permis aux Forces canadiennes de devenir l’une des forces militaires les plus respectées au monde.

If humanity has learned anything from the horrors of the war against terror, it is that our one hope is democracy. The final goal of our country’s actions at home and abroad is the preservation of democracy. This is the lens through which our policies should be discerned, dissected, and amended.Borovoy argues that Canada has pursued an ethically cockeyed war against terror. We have been needlessly dovish abroad and excessively hawkish at home. In order to use military force abroad, the government fussed over the need for UN approval.

Special Operations Forces (SOF) have never been an integral element of Canada’s military capability. Although units have existed periodically throughout the country’s history, they have always been in the shadows. However, the terrorist attack in the United States on September 11, 2001, changed that. In the aftermath of 9/11, SOF became the force of choice. Casting Light on the Shadows consists of a series of essays on SOF-related issues written by individuals with specialized knowledge and expertise in the field.

The Capital Years is being published to celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of the opening of the first parliament of Upper Canada.Nine scholars have contributed to this book, which explores the daily life of the inhabitants during the time period 1792-1796 when the area served as the capital of Upper Canada. Their knowledge and expertise give the book depth and breadth of scholarship.

Contrary to popular opinion, this nation has always consciously and consistently utilized military force to further its security, as well as its economic and political well-being. Despite the best of intentions to aid others, the reality is that military force has most often been used to serve the national interest in ways that were not always altruistic but rather to serve practical political purpose. In the final analysis, the Canadian military experience has been integral to creating the advanced, affluent, and vibrant nation that exists today.

"We are thus not only the first country in the world with the capability to produce nuclear weapons that chose not to do so, we are also the first nuclear armed country to have chosen to divest itself of nuclear weapons."Pierre Trudeau United Nations, 26 May 1978From 1963 to 1984, US nuclear warheads armed Canadian weapons systems in both Canada and West Germany. It is likely that during the early part of this period, the Canadian military was putting more effort, money, and manpower into the nuclear commitment than any other single activity.