Customer Reviews

The Canadian Soldier in World War II: From D-Day to VE-Day

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
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Few military "picture books" have given me as much unexpected pleasure as this one. Having bought it by mail on the basis of its subject matter alone, I was very pleasantly surprised when it not only met - but exceeded - my expectations. Lavishly (dare I say beautifully) illustrated by abundant carefully selected and wonderfully reproduced photos and charts, it exhaustively covers almost all aspects of the Canadian soldier in Northwest Europe in the final year of World War II. The succinct text (written in homage by French authors, but adequately transcribed into English) provides a good outline against which to appreciate this visual material. While the treatment of any individual subject may not be as deep as that found in books dediciated to a specific topic, I can confidently say that no one single volume provides as much useful information as this one does!

I really enjoy this book; as noted previously, there are some deficiencies and errors in the book, usually minor and not as frequent as earlier implied. I've noted some colour discrepencies within the book, which result mostly from the use of older colur photos.... colour charts on the same page essentially self-report the errors. The vast amount of information one gains from reviewing the charts and photos more than makes up for the few minimal mistakes.

The book is most suitable for reenactors, modelers, miniatures gamers. The book is mostly visual and contains minimal campaign information. There is also minimal technical information on equipment, weapons,and vehicles. The strength of the book is that it provides the knowledge that the average soldier would know, uniforms, personal equipment, unit organization.

There is a bonus section on the ill-fated Dieppe raid, which is out of the scope of the book's premise

Perhaps the one true disappointment I had with the book, was the limited coverage on the Canadian Women's Army Corps, slightly more than a single column worth of information which includes four pictures.

An odd Quality-Control issue with my copy is that the pages were inserted upside-down.... there is the curious bonus that I get strange looks for reading my book in this odd orientation.....

My review may be biased; I have published three books on Canadian Army uniforms and insignia myself. I commend Jean Bouchery for his efforts in assembling this book. Much information has not seen print before, and many photos of rare kit are an invaluable resource.

However, there are many errors of fact strewn through the book, indicating Bouchery's lack of direct experience with the Canadian military. The colour corrections to Canadian Battledress also render the book, in my opinion, not worth buying. Hopefully a corrected second edition is published - the publisher should really be raked over the coals for this, as the colour plates have been shifted drastically and are useless as even a general guide to Canadian uniform colours. Why print in colour if you are going to simply colour correct things outside the realm of normalcy?

Just about every page has a small error, but many are due to translation I think. Recommended for the experienced collector or historian, those just starting out are advised to be wary.

Still, much useful information if one can get past the presentation. I recommened buying this used or second-hand, until such time as a correction volume sees print.