The Canadian Army Reading List - Version 1, September 2001
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Fiction

Cobb, Humphrey. Penguin Classics Paths Of Glory, 1935.

The story of a failed attack against an impossible position and the fates of several French officers and soldiers after a communique is released announcing that the position was actually taken.

Crane, Stephen. Penguin Classics Red Badge Of Courage.

 A classic novel of the American Civil War telling the story of one soldier’s experiences.

Heinlein, Robert A., Starship Troopers, Berkely, 1987. ISBN 0-44-178358-9.

Do not compare this book with the film of the same name. This is the first true military science fiction book.  It is more than just science fiction, though, as it discusses politics, military organization and training theory.  It is mandatory reading at several military colleges.

MacLennan,Hugh. Two Solitudes. Toront Stoddart, 1998.

First published in 1945, this novel is a dramatic account of two peoples living within a single nation. The story is of the fate of a wealthy French Canadian who attempts to develop his home parish with the assistance of English speaking capitalists. This contact brings the central character in conflict with his family and neighbours.

Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. New York: Fawcett, 1987, c1929.

Considered to be the classic novel of the First World War, this book sets out to describe three things: the war, the fate of a generation and true comradeship. The author's own description is the most elegant synopsis. This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war.

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