Best 20th Century Canadian History Books of 2025

This book, published by Zeronic, is a perfect gift for those who want to immerse themselves in the year 1973. It includes over 220 iconic images, 25 vintage ads, and a comprehensive overview of politics, leading events, crimes, movies, TV shows, music, sports, pop culture, fashion, and technological advancements that shaped the world as we know it today. The book strikes a perfect balance between serious and popular events, making it an unforgettable time travel experience. Overall, this book is a great way to celebrate a special year and relive the remarkable moments of history that made it unique.

Freedom Is a Constant Struggle is a collection of essays, speeches, and interviews by Angela Y. Davis that connects the struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world. Davis reflects on the importance of black feminism, intersectionality, and prison abolitionism for today's struggles, discussing the legacies of previous liberation movements. The book highlights connections and analyzes today's struggles against state terror, from Ferguson to Palestine. Overall, this book challenges readers to imagine and build the movement for human liberation, making it a must-read for anyone interested in social justice and activism.

Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes: Tragedies and Legacies from the Inland Seas is a gripping account of the maritime disasters that have occurred on the five Great Lakes. The author, Anna Lardinois, provides an insightful look at the legends and true stories of the sailors who lost their lives in these icy waters. The book is filled with chilling lore, ghostly sightings, and maritime protocols that guide decisions made on the water. Highly recommended for those interested in Great Lakes and American Nautical History.

The Secret Team by L. Fletcher Prouty is a revealing exposé on the CIA’s covert and black operations during the Cold War era. The book delves into President Kennedy’s attempts to control the agency, the nature of clandestine operations, and the U-2 Crisis of 1960, among other topics. Despite being published in the 1970s, the book disappeared from circulation due to mysterious “private buyers.” With a new introduction by bestselling author Governor Jesse Ventura, The Secret Team offers a rare glimpse into the world of espionage and how it shaped the United States and the world.

The book "1972: The Series That Changed Hockey Forever" by Scott Morrison tells the story of the legendary Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union. Morrison uses a storyteller's voice to reveal what it meant to hockey then and what it means now. With stories from players and others involved in the series, the book sheds new light on those incredible games and times. This book is a must-read for any hockey fan or anyone interested in the history of sports. Overall, Morrison does an excellent job of capturing the drama and significance of this historic event, making it a unique and compelling read.

Peter Caddick-Adams' "Sand and Steel" is a detailed account of the Allied invasion of France in June 1944, covering the years of preparation and the battles fought along France's northern coast. The heart of the book is the narratives of the five beaches where the drama played out, and the attempt by American, British, and Canadian soldiers to gain a foothold in Europe. The book also covers the German preparations and the largest flotilla of ships ever assembled. Caddick-Adams' gripping book does Operations Overlord and Neptune full justice and will likely be the standard work on D-Day for some time to come.

Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper is the wartime memoir of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, World War II's best scoring sniper. The book is a remarkable document and a significant coup for the English language edition. Pavlichenko's varied wartime career included trips to England and America. She had 309 recorded kills, including 29 enemy sniper kills, and was regarded as a key heroic figure for the war effort. The book is undoubtedly literature's most remarkable account of sniper action, and it is a must-read for anyone interested in WWII biographies.

The Mountbattens: The Lives and Loves of Dickie and Edwina Mountbatten is a fascinating biography that explores the scandalous and history-making partnership of Lord Louis Dickie Mountbatten and his wife, Edwina. The book delves into the truth behind controversies such as the Dieppe Raid and Indian Partition, the love affair between Edwina and Nehru, and Mountbatten's assassination in 1979. The author presents a well-researched and compelling portrait of two complex individuals whose public and private lives were intertwined with the heights of British glamour and power. Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in historical India and South Asia biographies.

The memoir "And There Was Light" is an extraordinary account of Jacques Lusseyran's experiences during World War II. Blinded at the age of eight, Lusseyran went on to form a resistance group and recruit others using his heightened senses. He was eventually arrested and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp, where he was one of only thirty survivors out of a transport of two thousand resistance fighters. This updated edition, chosen as one of the 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century, is a powerful and insightful description of living and thriving with blindness, or any challenge. Lusseyran's story is both thrilling and inspiring, making this memoir a must-read.

The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism by John U. Bacon tells the story of the largest manmade explosion in history prior to the atomic bomb. The book details the events leading up to the disaster, the human faces of the blast's 11,000 casualties, and the personal stories of those who survived and worked tirelessly to rescue others. The book sheds light on how the disaster revolutionized pediatric medicine, transformed U.S.-Canadian relations, and provided physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer with a real-world case study demonstrating the lethal power of a weapon of mass destruction. This is a captivating and emotionally investing journey of survival, heroism, and tragedy.