This year’s finalists for the 2017 Ottawa Book Awards and Prix du livre d’Ottawa include two books in the non-fiction category that will interest family historians. The awards recognize the top 15 English and French books published in the past year by authors in Ottawa.
D. Peter MacLeod, Backs to the Wall: The Battle of Sainte-Foy and the Conquest of Canada. (Douglas & McIntyre) This book tells the story of the British and French military campaigns of 1760 for the possession of New France.
The Battle of Sainte-Foy was less a battle for territory than a struggle for survival between two equally desperate adversaries. Dr. MacLeod presents this historical event in riveting detail, from the preparation and day-by-day actions during the engagement to the compelling siege of Quebec by land and ship. Backs to the Wall is an accessible and engaging account of an important episode in Canadian history.
Dr. MacLeod is the pre-Confederation historian at the Canadian War Museum and currently works as English language style editor for the Canadian History Hall at the Canadian Museum of History. His previous books include The Canadian Iroquois and the Seven Years’ War and Northern Armageddon.
Nathan M. Greenfield, The Reckoning: Canadian Prisoners of War in the Great War. (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd) In The Reckoning, bestselling author and Governor General’s Award-nominee Nathan M. Greenfield explores life and death in German POW camps, as well as the attempts to run for freedom. These are the forgotten stories of our soldiers at war and in the camps, and of how they never gave up hope of making it out alive.
Dr. Greenfield is the Canadian correspondent for TES and is a contributor to Maclean’s, Canadian Geographic, and TLS. He is the author of The Damned, Baptism of Fire, The Battle of the St. Lawrence and The Forgotten.
The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on October 18. Each winner will receive $7,500, while finalists will each receive $1,000.
The full list of Ottawa Book Award finalists is on the City of Ottawa website.
