Canadian Forces, including Special Operations Forces, have played an outsize role in the conflict in Afghanistan, often under a cloak of secrecy. For the first time, Col. Bernd Horn reveals the stories of the troops and operations behind Canada’s pivotal involvement in the Afghanistan conflict. No Ordinary Men Peels back the cloak of secrecy and reveals four untold special operations that Joint Task Force 2, an elite counterterrorist unit, conducted in 2005–06 in which their courage, tenacity, and impressive capabilities meant the difference between life and death. No Lack of Courage The story of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Operation Medusa, the largely Canadian action in Afghanistan from 1 to 17 September 2006, to dislodge a heavily entrenched Taliban force in the Pashmul district of Afghanistans Kandahar Province. No Easy Task Afghanistan has long been considered the graveyard of empires. Those who have ventured into Afghanistan with notions of controlling its people have soon discovered that fighting in that rugged, hostile land is no easy task. This collection of essays examines this legacy of conflict, particularly from a Canadian perspective.

Rory Stewart recounts the experiences he had walking across Afghanistan in 2002, describing how the country and its people have been impacted by the Taliban and the American military's involvement in the region.

We Stand on Guard for Whom? is the first book to present a history of the Canadian military from the perspective of its victims. In his eleventh book, Yves Engler, the prolific author and critic of Canadian politics, exposes the reality of Canadian wars, repression, and military culture despite the mythologies of Canada as an agent for international peacekeeping and humanitarianism. Originating as a British force that brutally dispossessed First Nations, the Canadian Forces regularly quelled labor unrest in the decades after Confederation. It would go on to participate in military occupations or invasions in Sudan, South Africa, Europe, Korea, Iraq, Serbia, Afghanistan, and Libya, as well as Canadian gunboat diplomacy and UN deployments that have ousted elected governments. As the federal government department with by far the greatest budget, staff, PR machine, and intelligence-gathering capacities, this book shows how the Canadian military is a key developer of military technology, including chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. It also has an immense ecological footprint and a toxic patriarchal, racist, and anti-democratic culture. However, as this book shows, Canadian militarism has always been contested, as early as opposition to conscription during World War I and as especially during peace activism against the US war in Indochina. More recently, city councils have declared themselves nuclear weapons free zones and prevented hosting of weapons bazaars and, in 2003, antiwar activists stopped Prime Minister Jean Chrétien from leading Canada into the US-led invasion of Iraq. This book reveals the hidden militarism in Canadian life and reminds us that the first step to contest it is to recognize its pervasiveness and power.

Novelist, diplomat, statesman, representative of both the First Nations and the Crown in Canada, James Bartleman always writes from his incredible personal experience. Presented here are three extraordinary books, each touching on a different aspect of his life, whether a candid tell-all about the halls of power, or his unique novels in which the names and details have been changed to protect the innocent. Guaranteed to captivate readers of all stripes. Includes: Seasons of Hope Traces James Bartleman's life from an impoverished Native childhood to being appointed ambassador for Canada and lieutenant governor for Ontario, and how as his career advanced, he mobilized public support for Native education. This story traces the whole amazing story. Exceptional Circumstances When Luc Cadotte, diplomat and spy, returns home from Latin America during the FLQ Crisis, he becomes entangled in political machinations and a story of espionage, betrayal, and love gone wrong. Facing an unprecedented wave of domestic terrorism, Cadotte must weigh his ethics against public safety, with lives on the line. The Redemption of Oscar Wolf A saga of mid-20th-century Native life in Canada and abroad, and a novel of resonating ideas and unforgettable characters, whose fascinating, anti-hero protagonist sets out on a quest for redemption after a terrible incident kills his grandfather and a young maid.

Military historian Carl Benn explores the rich history of our nation with two absorbing stories of bravery in this special two-book bundle. Mohawks on the Nile: Natives Among the Canadian Voyageurs in Egypt, 1884-1885 Mohawks on the Nile explores the absorbing history of sixty Aboriginal men who left their occupations in the Ottawa River timber industry to participate in a military expedition on the Nile River in 1884-1885. Chosen becuase of their outstanding skills as boatmen and river pilots, they formed part of the Canadian Voyageur Contingent, which transported British troops on a fleet of whaleboats through the Nile’s treacherous cataracts in the hard campaigning of the Sudan War. Historic Fort York, 1793-1993 Fearing an American invasion of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe had Fort York built in 1793 as an emergency defensive measure. That act became the first step in the founding of modern Toronto. In this book, Carl Benn explores the dramatic roles Fort York played in the frontier war of the 1790s, the birth of Toronto, the War of 1812, the Rebellion of 1837 and the defence of Canada during the American Civil War, and describes how Toronto’s most important heritage site came to be preserved as a tangible link to Canada’s turbulent military past.

To protect her park and the wildlife she loves, warden Jenny Willson isn’t above breaking a few rules ... or bones. Book #1 — Full Curl Poachers and bureaucrats: Park warden Jenny Willson considers them equally repulsive and worthy of the same fate. When she discovers animals disappearing from Canada’s mountain parks, Willson finds herself racing down a trail lined with deceit, distraction, and murder, and tempted to cross a line to a place she might not be able to come back from. Book #2 — No Place for Wolverines When Jenny Willson initiates a covert inquiry into a proposed ski hill in Yoho National Park, she must decide if she’s willing to risk her career — and perhaps her life and the lives of those close to her — to reveal what lurks in the darkness. Book #3 — In Rhino We Trust Willson joins an American colleague on a secondment to assist Namibian officers trying to stem the loss of elephants, rhinos and other iconic species from their country. Instead, she gets caught up in a conspiracy involving wildlife poachers.

By the author of Destiny Disrupted: an enlightening, accessible history of modern Afghanistan from the Afghan point of view, showing how Great Power conflicts have interrupted its ongoing, internal struggle to take form as a nation