Vimy: Canada’s Memorial to a Generation
by Jacqueline Hucker & Julian Smith
Sanderling Press, Ottawa, 2012
128 pp., illus., $25 paperback
There are some places that simply need to be seen in person. Reading about them just doesn’t cut it. Vimy Ridge is one of those places.
Vimy Ridge is the site in northeast France where, for the first time during World War I, all four Canadian army divisions fought together. Over the course of Easter weekend 1917, the Canadian troops stormed heavily defended German positions and captured the strategic ridge.
I recently returned from Vimy and was intensely moved by the pilgrimage. But I also recognize that not every Canadian can, or will, travel to France to stand on the ground where so many Canadians gave their lives. For those Canadians, Vimy: Canada’s Memorial to a Generation, by Jacqueline Hucker and Julian Smith, will serve as a great visual introduction to our most hallowed war memorial.
Filled with many gorgeous shots of the memorial, the book tells the story of both the battle and the ensuing efforts to design and construct the imposing limestone monument at Vimy. This is a great addition to any Canadian’s bookshelf.
This review appeared in the August-September 2012 issue of Canada's History magazine.
— Mark Collin Reid (Read bio)
Mark Collin Reid is the Editor-in-Chief of Canada's History.