Living with War: Twentieth-Century Conflict in Canadian and American History and Memory

by Robert Teigrob

Overview

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

ISBN-13:	9781442699182
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	04/11/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	488
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

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

What People are Saying About This

Beth Bailey

"With clarity, grace, and unusual nuance, Robert Teigrob unsettles our assumptions, showing why it matters how nations remember their wars."

Ian McKay

"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."

Editorial 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

From the Publisher

"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."

University of Toronto Quarterly, vol 87 3, Summer 2018 - Jonathan F. Vance

'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.'

Choice, vol 54:04:2016 - B. Osborne