Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excelent book rated for high school students and adults., July 20, 1998
By A Customer
Although this book is long it does go into detail about what the conditions were like at Vimy Ridge but also in to the people (such as Gen. J. Byng). 99% of my class enjoyed reading this book. It was very hard to put the book down as got further into the book. It was well writen and the information is great for people entering high school. I would recomend this book to anyone who would like to know more about WWI and the strugles the people had..due to the fact that it focus in on the CANADIAN heritage. It is well writen because Pierre Burton did a lot of research..
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Canada's coming of age., April 9, 2002
It just so happens that I've finished reading this book today, exactly 85 years after the very battle it describes. The Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 9th, 1917. On that chilly morning the inexperienced Canadian Corps (including one British brigade) were expected to accomplish what the British and French had failed to do in two years: namely, to dislodge the Germans from their impenetrable stronghold of Vimy Ridge on the Douai Plains of France. And they were expected to achieve that victory with fifty thousand fewer men then the French had LOST in their own frustrated assaults. They did it. And this book is their story. Pierre Berton's approach is unique, and makes for a breathtaking read. In the Author's Note he says "My purpose... has been to tell not just what happened but also WHAT IT WAS LIKE. I have tried to look at the Vimy experience from the point of view of the man in the mud as well as from that of the senior planners."
He has achieved his goal... one gets the sense that the author ran through the trenches and across "No Man's Land" himself with a videocamera on that thunderous morning. Not only do we see the root and stem of every tactical achievement and blunder, we hear, see and smell, and FEEL what took place as well, in as much as it is possible. The research is extensive and meticulous, as can be seen in the Acknowledgements and Source List at the end of the book. It just so happens that I live within sight of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill, here in the capital city of Canada. High up in that Tower the single word "Vimy" is carved. For me, reading this book shifts a tremendous load of significance onto that single word.
Vimy stands for more than a battle won, it stands for Canadian ingenuity, innovation, courage, Canadian dash and daring, Canadian enterprise. Life! Freedom!
It has become commonplace to say that Canada came of age at Vimy Ridge.
This is an immeasurably important, beautifully written book. Read Vimy, "lest we forget."
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reads Like a Great Novel, November 5, 2003
Vimy is just one of several books written by the quintessential Canadian historian Pierre Berton. Along with these books, his columns, television series, and his permanent panellist status on Front Page Challenge have earned him a place in the Order of Canada, the Governor-General's award, several literary awards, and has made many Canadians interested in their country's history. Now this isn't the first piece I've read by Mr. Berton. I've also thoroughly enjoyed many of his others, including The Invasion of Canada, Flames Across the Border, and Marching to War. It is however, my favourite one to date. Vimy tells the stories of a number of the Canadian participants in the Great War. It follows them as they prepare for, then engage in, and come out victorious from the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a battle that has become a national symbol of pride for Canada. After reading this book, it is easy to understand why Canada is so proud of its accomplishment during the First World War. A young nation, with little military experience and somewhat unruly soldiers, came in with fresh ideas and accomplished what the British, and the French, countries with centuries of military knowledge, could not. This book reads more like a good novel than like a historical fact-sheet. At times it's hard to follow because of the number of people involved in the different stories, but otherwise, it's a literary masterpiece. The graphic imagery of the trenches and the battlefields paint a very vivid picture in one's imagination, and the feelings emoted by the characters become very real to the reader throughout the book. This is a true testament to the resolve of the Canadian people, but it is also an eye-opening account of the horrors of war. It is important for Canadian to know what role we played on the world stage in the World War 1, and this is the perfect book to read to understand that.
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