Living with War: Twentieth-Century Conflict in Canadian and American History and Memory
© 2016
Canada and the United States: we think of one as a peaceable kingdom, the other as a warrior nation. But do our expectations about each country’s attitudes to war and peace match the realities?
In Living with War, Robert Teigrob examines how war is experienced and remembered on both sides of the 49th parallel. Surveying popular and scholarly histories, films and literature, public memorials, and museum exhibits in both countries, he comes to some startling conclusions. Americans may seem more patriotic, even jingoistic, but they are also more willing to debate the pros and cons of their military actions. Canadians, though more diffident in their public displays of patriotism, are more willing than their southern neighbors to accept the official narrative that depicts just wars fought in the service of a righteous cause.
A provocative book that complements critiques of contemporary Canadian militarism such as Warrior Nation, Living with War offers an intriguing look at the relationship with the military past on both sides of the border.
Product Details
- Row Rights
- Page Count: 488 pages
- Illustrations: 42
- Dimensions: 6.0in x 1.1in x 9.0in
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Reviews
‘This scholarly study’s provocative and thoroughly researched arguments are supported by some thousand references, over 500 footnotes, and 44 illustrations that are well integrated into the text.’
B. Osborne
Choice, vol 54:04:2016"Living with War is a lively read and an easy one…It covers such a broad sweep of history that almost anyone can find something of interest – and something to argue about."
Jonathan F. Vance, University of Western Ontario
University of Toronto Quarterly, vol 87 3, Summer 2018"Living with War is an exceptionally important book, full of fresh insights into how Canadians and Americans have regarded war and peace for more than a century. Teigrob writes with wit, intelligence, and courage, challenging many of the martial myths and misconceptions that both states have steadfastly nurtured – and which now risk becoming durable elements within state-sponsored civic religions."
Ian McKay, Department of History, Queen's University, and co-author of 'Warrior Nation: Rebranding Canada in an Age of Anxiety'"With clarity, grace, and unusual nuance, Robert Teigrob unsettles our assumptions, showing why it matters how nations remember their wars."
Beth Bailey, Department of History, University of Kansas -
Author Information
Robert Teigrob is a professor in the Department of History at Ryerson University. -
Table of contents
Introduction
Part One – Reconnaissance: Martial Orientations
Chapter 1: Conflict in the Era of High Imperialism
Chapter 2: Wars Good, Cold, and Forgotten
Part Two – Excavation: Inquiries into the Development of War Habits
Chapter 3: Wars for and Against Empire
Chapter 4: Political Cultures: The Architecture of Governance
Chapter 5: Political Cultures: The Citizen and the State
Chapter 6: Matters of Faith
Chapter 7: Race
Chapter 8: Making and Breaking Nations
Conclusion
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Subjects and Courses
