World War I

• Le Québec dans la Grande Guerre (Charles-Philippe Courtois et Laurent Veyssière) – A very complete book on the effects of the First World War on Quebec (in French).
• Paris 1919 (Margaret MacMillan) – An in-depth account of the Treaty of Versailles. As mentioned by our manager, Marina Smyth : « I put it on the past Christmas list, so I figured I’d lobby to have you add it to this one as well! ».
• They Fought in Colour: A New Look at Canada’s First World War Effort / La Guerre en couleur : Nouveau regard sur le Canada dans la Première Guerre mondiale (Paul Gross, Peters Mansbridge et la Fondation Vimy) – A bilingual book for the general public on Canadian participation in the Great War.

World War II

• Areyo Hoshikuzu (Yamada Sensuke) – A manga in seven volumes, this series tells the daily life of two Japanese soldiers who return home and must live the challenges of a devastated country after the war.
• Enfants en guerre (Kees Vanderheyden) – An account by children aged 9 to 12 during the Second World War (in French).
  
• So Much To Forget: A Child’s Vision Of Hell (Alain Stanké) – A biographical account of a childhood during the Second World War.
• The Stormy season trilogy (Charlotte Link) – Includes the books Stormy Season, Wild Lupins and The Heritage. This fiction is set in Germany during the time of East Prussia and the story takes place from the beginning of World War I to the post-war years of the 1950s.

Battle of Hong Kong

• Not the Slightest Chance (Tony Banham) – An extremely complete book on the different phases of the battle of Hong Kong, almost entirely based on the testimonies of the soldiers.
• The Battle for Hong Kong, 1941-1945: Hostage to Fortune (Oliver Lindsay) – This book is a mix between a biography of John R. Harris, a British volunteer, and a study of the battle and the subsequent imprisonment of the Allies.
• Tin Hats & Rice (Barbara Anslow) – Based on the diary of Barbara Anslow, a British internee at Stanley Camp, this book explains in depth the daily life of civilians in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation.

War in Afghanistan

• Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History (Thomas Barfield) – If you want to understand the context of the conflict in Afghanistan, this book covers the history of Afghanistan from the Mughal Empire to the resurgence of the Taliban.
  
• No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War through Afghan Eyes (Anand Gopal) – Marina Smyth: “I’ve read a few of Anand Gopal’s articles, and they were well written, interesting and revealing. In this book, Gopal looks at the failures of U.S. policy in Afghanistan, including the perspective of Afghan villagers.
• The Dogs Are Eating Them Now: Our War in Afghanistan (Graeme Smith) – Canadian journalist Graeme Smith recounts his years of reporting in Afghanistan and departs from the official narrative of the war, exposing in great detail what life was really like for soldiers and civilians.
• The Politics of War: Canada’s Afghanistan Mission, 2001–14 (Jean-Christophe Boucher and Kim Richard Nossal) – This book is fairly academic, but if you want an inside look at Canadian policy during the war in Afghanistan and a retrospective of the ups and downs of popular opinion on the Canadian mission in Afghanistan, this book is for you.