In September I had the opportunity to explore the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. It was a memorable visit charting Canada’s role as contributors to various war efforts as well as active peace keepers around the world. My blog post from September 18th will provide a quick review, or fill in those that have only been following this blog for a short while.

It is Remembrance Day today, and with that I want to share a book title with you that has become my companion guide to Jane Urquart’s “The Stone Carvers”, a book we are reading in our book club this month.

Vimy – Canada’s Memorial to a Generation by Jacqueline Hucker and Julian Smith was published by Sanderling Press, Ottawa, 2012. ISBN 978-1-56592

The book charts the history of Canadian soldiers during WWI, it commemorates the loss of 60,000 Canadian soldiers’ lives, and it shares with us the moment the call for proposals went out to Walter Allward’s vision becoming reality. The monument has been restored recently. The authors captured this undertaking in word and image. I will leave you today with the quote from the back cover of “Vimy”:

Isolated on the ridge, the Vimy Monument rises from the ground and engages with both the landscape and the sky. Here its sculptural figures passionately perform their roles. As in a Greek tragedy, they speak to the nature of war and the ongoing human struggle to contain the forces of disorder – forces that are part of our own humanity…

If you are looking to purchase a copy of this book contact the Canadian War Museum. I bought mine in the gift shop. Click on the highlighted words or call 1-800-555-5621

11 Nov This entry was published on November 11, 2012 at 6:32 am. It’s filed under Art, Book Review, History and tagged Canadian War Museum, Jacqueline Hucker, Julian Smith, Ottawa, Remembrance Day, Vimy - Canada's Memorial to a Generation, Vimy Memorial, Vimy Ridge, Walter Allward. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.