National Network for Equitable Library Service

In 1917, the Canadian Corps captured Vimy Ridge in northern France, and a myth grew that Canada — as a nation — was born on its slopes. But the cost was tremendous: 10,000 Canadians were killed, wounded, or went missing in the three-day battle. Shortly thereafter, Prime Minister Robert Borden assembled a "Union Government" to support conscription and called an election on the issue. Canada split along ethnic lines: English Canadians supported conscription; French Canadians rejected it. By year end, Canada teetered on the brink of civil war.

Saint John became a gateway to what is now Canada in the early 1600s, and Fort La Tour, built in 1632, was one of the three main forts of Acadie. In Saint John Fortifications, Roger Sarty and Doug Knight trace the history of the port's defences, from the earliest log palisades to the bunkers, gun emplacements, and communications stations built during World War II. Put to the test during the American Revolutionary War, Saint John has figured as one of Canada's most significant guardians.

Harry L. Gill, of Fredericton, New Brunswick, enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 at the age of 18. During his short but adventure-filled career, he flew a Hurricane fighter bomber over France, England, and India and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. In 1943 his airplane was shot down over Burma, and he died in the crash. Hurricane Pilot captures the perspective of a young man in the middle of a war in Europe and Asia.

Few Canadians realize how close the colony of Nova Scotia came to joining the American Revolutionary War in 1775. Many Nova Scotians were immigrants from New England, including the Planters who, some twenty years earlier, had taken over the farms of the expelled Acadians. Between family ties and unrestrained privateering, there was much sympathy in Nova Scotia for the American Patriots.

The brutal battlefields of Europe during World War II were the testing ground for the young men of the 1st Battalion of the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment. On June 6, 1944, the soldiers landed on the coast of France as part of the first wave of the D-Day invasion. After securing the eastern flank of the Canadian landing along Juno Beach, the Regiment was in constant contact with the enemy over the next thirty days, suffering a steady stream of casualties. This led to a ferocious battle in the French village of Carpiquet.

Imagine you're a young woman caught up in the ugly reality of war. You meet and fall in love with a young soldier from a foreign country. You marry and your world is upended: when the war ends, you leave all you've ever known behind - your family, friends, and way of life - to begin a new life in Canada.

La dure réalité des Filles du Roy au 17e ­siècle, le Grand Dérangement, la légende de Jos Montferrand, la rébellion métisse de Batoche en 1885, l’opposition des Franco-Ontariens au Règlement 17 dans les années 1910, la crise de la conscription en 1917, la Grande dépression des années 1930, l’émeute du Forum en 1955, la Crise d’octobre 1970, la mobilisation contre la fermeture de l’Hôpital Montfort… Autant d’événements qui servent de toile de fond à de courts textes mêlant avec brio fiction et réalité historique.

Des patriotes de 1830 à 1837 d’origine acadienne ? Est-ce vraiment une surprise après le traumatisme vécu en Acadie et l’arrivée douloureuse à Québec entre 1755 et 1759 ? Des anciens gradés de la guerre de 1812 qui changent d’allégeance entre 1830 et 1837. Des députés issus du monde des affaires, des agriculteurs, des artisans, des prêtres, tous oubliés de la grande histoire.

Marc Doré se souvient du village pittoresque de son enfance, où il a vécu jusqu’à la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, et du choc de l’installation de sa famille dans la grande ville de Québec. Servi par une langue très vivante, le récit couvre une vingtaine d’années du Québec qui s’ouvre alors à la modernité. Cette dernière transforme, non sans violence, le tissu familial et social dans lequel a toujours évolué le jeune homme. En dépit de ces bouleversements, l’auteur raconte avec sensibilité et humour des années de bonheur.

Paru il y a 175 ans, en 1837, « Le scholar américain » de Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) est le texte fondateur de l’identité culturelle états-unienne. Les États-Unis en avaient alors assez de se « nourrir des restes flétris de moissons étrangères », ainsi que l’écrivait Emerson. Or, nous aussi « avons trop longtemps prêté l’oreille aux gracieuses muses de l’Europe ».