What do you think?
Rate this book
The Generals: The Canadian Army's Senior Commanders in the Second World War
Originally published in 1993, The Generals is a collective biography of the Canadian armys leaders in World War II, and is the winner of the Dafoe Book Prize for International Relations and the UBC Medal for Canadian Biography. The only book of its kind on this subject, The Generals remains an invaluable resource for academics, policy makers, and anyone interested Canada's military history. This new edition features an introduction by Dr. David J. Bercuson, Director of the Center for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary.
353 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
29 people want to read
About the author
J.L. Granatstein
77 books19 followersJack Lawrence Granatstein is a Canadian historian who specializes in Canadian political and military history. Granatstein received a graduation diploma from Royal Military College Saint-Jean in 1959, his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Royal Military College of Canada in 1961, his Master of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 1962, and his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Duke University in 1966.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 25, 2013
A great look at the political workings at the top of the Canadian Army, with insightful comments about the gulf between the PF (regular army) and the NPAM (reserve army) and how some things never change!
Only criticism would be the use of terminology such as GSO II, Brigade Major etc. for officers, but no explanation of what their duties are - Granatstein presumes we know what these positions are for.
That is a minor detail, however, and the meat of the text is in its profiles - professional and personal - of Canada's war time generals. The book could easily have been twice as long and retained interest, even so, the focus on the top few generals is well worth the price asked for this book. Granatstein is in his element discussing with conviction the experience of the senior officers.
Granatstein does a very nice job of categorizing the generals, and discussed Francophones separately as well as the Militia officers seperate from the PFs. Of course, in real life they were very much separate. The stories of all the generals are inter-related, and so there is a certain amount of crossover between the chapters - but never does this amount to repetition. Granatstein and his editors did a terrific job of keeping the prose flowing and not becoming redundant from one chapter to the next. One cannot praise this book too highly from that point of view.
Lack of explanation of duties of the various officers and levels of command leave this one at a 4 star rating. Some detailed examples of command decisions would have been nice, but are probably not necessary in what is essentially a character study - and a fine one at that.
Only criticism would be the use of terminology such as GSO II, Brigade Major etc. for officers, but no explanation of what their duties are - Granatstein presumes we know what these positions are for.
That is a minor detail, however, and the meat of the text is in its profiles - professional and personal - of Canada's war time generals. The book could easily have been twice as long and retained interest, even so, the focus on the top few generals is well worth the price asked for this book. Granatstein is in his element discussing with conviction the experience of the senior officers.
Granatstein does a very nice job of categorizing the generals, and discussed Francophones separately as well as the Militia officers seperate from the PFs. Of course, in real life they were very much separate. The stories of all the generals are inter-related, and so there is a certain amount of crossover between the chapters - but never does this amount to repetition. Granatstein and his editors did a terrific job of keeping the prose flowing and not becoming redundant from one chapter to the next. One cannot praise this book too highly from that point of view.
Lack of explanation of duties of the various officers and levels of command leave this one at a 4 star rating. Some detailed examples of command decisions would have been nice, but are probably not necessary in what is essentially a character study - and a fine one at that.
March 28, 2021
Very solid.
September 25, 2025
Fine look at the Canadian generals of WW2
and how they did. Highly recommended!
and how they did. Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews