The boyish title suggests a picture book for teenagers, but the subtitle provides the necessary trim: A Political, Social and Military History.
The early days are pure steampunk, the first undersea boats being built by carpenters, wagon-makers and other inventors armed with a combination of naivety and cleverness.
These boats were often swamped while still on the surface, or went into uncontrollable dives. Yet the idea of submersible ships refused to go away, even when employed to little effect in the American Civil War.
When WWI began, their capabilities were downplayed, in part because their use was widely believed to be immoral. Then in September 1914, one antiquated German submarine sank three British cruisers in the space of 90 minutes, killing more British sailors "than were lost by Lord Nelson in all his battles put together." It suddenly became clear that "the smallest cheapest warship could now take on the battleship, head to head, and win."
The Allies eventually found convoys to be proof against submarines, but it was a stratagem that became less effective in WWII because of advances in technology. Now German submarines formed "wolf-packs" and had easy pickings for a while. In hindsight, if Germany had launched unrestricted attacks against merchant shipping much earlier than they did, England might have been subdued before the US entered the war.
In the Pacific, the Japanese employed not only midget submarines, but also the underwater equivalent of a Kamikaze attack -- manned torpedoes whose pilots were "locked in for a one-way voyage which was destined to last no more than five hours, no matter what."
The book was published in 1997, a year after the US nuclear-powered sub Seawolf had conducted its first sea trials. At the time it was considered to be the most powerful warship in the world.
I couldn't put this book down. It's scary, fascinating reading.
David Bushnell's Turtle, 1775
The hand-cranked Confederate submarine Hunley, 1864.
Website
In 1929 Evelyn Richardson and her husband Morrill purchased a small island off the southern tip of Nova Scotia, and took over the job of tending the lighthouse there.
This was during the Great Depression when pay was poor and life was hard. There was no power, no telephone, no radio communications. Morrill was constantly at work, not just tending the light, but doing all the other jobs necessary to keep body and soul together. Evelyn pitched in when she could spare a moment from her homemaking tasks, which included home-schooling their three young children. They gardened and raised livestock and harvested Irish moss. When the war came along, their workload only increased.
Despite the hardships they loved their life on the island, and Evelyn's memoir, which won the GG in 1945, is a moving, heartfelt, and beautifully written testimony to the closeness of their family, and the pride and joy they experienced in their isolated life of endless toil. It reads like an idyl.
This book is a Canadian classic.
Evelyn Richardson Memorial Literary Prize
Every year this award for non-fiction is presented by the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia. It's part of the annual Atlantic Book Awards.
From a long list of 60, eight books were shortlisted for the inaugural 2010 Canada Also Reads literary competition. Now it's time to vote. The poll closes March 15 at 1pm EST. The winner will announced on The Afterword on Tuesday, March 16.
John Mutford's defence
Steve's writing tips
Books and panellists
Longlist
Never been to Yellowknife?
Here are some great photos I stumbled upon today, at Canadian Mosaic and SkyscraperCity. Please don't be too intimated by all the ice and snow. As Northerners like to say, winter is not the only season there. They also get a couple months of bad skidooing.
Read More Canada
Alternatives to Canada Reads have been popping up all over the place. In addition to Canada Also Reads, there are:
Canada Reads Independently:
Moody Food by Ray Robertson
How Happy To Be by Katrina Onstad
Wild Geese by Martha Ostenso
Hair Hat by Carrie Snyder
Century by Ray Smith
Civilians Read:
The same books as Canada Reads, but championed by ordinary folks. With video replays.
Endless Possibilities
Bloggers love challenges. How about:
Canada ReReads
Canada Reads SF
Canada Bleeds
Canada Shrieks
What fun!
Canada Also Reads kicked off today with John Mutford's able defence of Yellowknife.
By Thursday, panellists defending all eight books will have been heard from, and voting will begin the following day, on Friday, March 5. On Monday, March 8, there'll be an online panel discussion with the writers and panellists.
In John, I couldn't have asked for a better champion. He lives in Yellowknife and is proprietor of the Book Mine Set. For three years he's hosted the Canadian Book Challenge, which asks readers to chow down on 13 Canadian books over the course of a year. Enthusiastic readers from as far away as India have signed up. I'm a member too, and it's given my reading an interesting new focus.
But that's not all you'll find at the Book Mine Set. There's also Saturday Word Play, Short Story Mondays, and the Great Wednesday Compare, in which readers are asked to choose between two prominent writers. Last week it was Louisa May Alcott and Thomas Hardy.
Blogging about books is a lot of fun, and John has created a great community of readers who pool their comments and share their love of books.
Why not join the fun?
