Jack Granatstein

Infobox Military Person
name= Jack Lawrence Granatstein,


caption=
rank=
branch=
commands=
unit=
battles=
family=
nickname=
allegiance=Canadian
born= 1939
died=
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=
serviceyears= 1956 to 1966
portrayedby=
laterwork= military historian, educator
awards=OC, FRSC

Jack Lawrence Granatstein, OC, FRSC (born 1939) is a Canadian historian who specializes in political and military history.

Education

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Granatstein received a graduation diploma from Le College militaire royal de Saint-Jean in 1959, his BA from the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in 1961, his MA from the University of Toronto in 1962 and his Ph.D from Duke University in 1966.

Career

He served in the Canadian Army from 1956 to 1966. He taught at York University in Toronto between 1966 and 1996 where he is Distinguished Research Professor of History Emeritus.

Granatstein has been a passionate and outspoken defender of traditional narrative history in lectures, books, print, and broadcast media. Perhaps his best known work is "Who Killed Canadian History?" but he is the author of over sixty other books, including "Yankee Go Home?", and "Victory 1945" (with Desmond Morton). "The Generals" won the J.W. Dafoe Prize and the UBC Medal for Canadian Biography. "The Last Good War" was awarded the Canadian Authors Association's 2005 Lela Common Award for Canadian History.

He was a member of the RMC Board of Governors and is Chair of the Council for Canadian Security in the 21st Century.

Granatstein has also been involved in television coverage of political and military events. On June 6 1994, he was part of the CBC's coverage of the 50th anniversary of D-Day, as the network's chief correspondent, Peter Mansbridge got expert help in the commentary from Granatstein. Granatstein would also help Mansbridge again on May 8, 1995, during the CBC's coverage of the 50th anniversary of VE Day. He reprised the same role on the 60th anniversaries of D-Day and V-E Day.

In recent years, Granatstein has shifted towards the political right. In 2003, he supported Canada's involvement in the Iraq War. He defended his position in "Whose War?" which was published in 2007. In this book, Granatstein also sharply critiqued Lloyd Axworthy's foreign policy while generally praising the positions adopted by Stephen Harper. He has also expressed serious reservations concerning Multiculturalism. A great foe of Quebec independence, he has accused Lucien Bouchard of being both a demagogue and a liar.

Jack Granatstein served as the head of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa from 1998 to 2001 and was the driving force behind the building of the museum's new home that opened in 2005.

Honours

The Royal Society of Canada awarded him the J.B. Tyrrell Historical Gold Medal (1992) for "outstanding work in the history of Canada". In 1996, the Conference of Defence Associations Institute named him winner of the Vimy Award which recognizes a Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of our nation and the preservation of our democratic values. [ [http://www.rmcclub.ca/everitaswp/?p=1430#more-1430 e-Veritas » Blog Archive » Misc ] ]

In 1996, he became an Officer of the Order of Canada, and he won the National History Society's Pierre Berton Prize in 2004 and the Organization for the History of Canada's National History Award in 2006. He has received honorary degrees from the University of Western Ontario, the University of Calgary, as well as Memorial University of Newfoundland, McMaster University, Niagara University, and Ryerson University.

ee also

* List of Canadian historians
* Military history of Canada

References

Books

*4237 Dr. Adrian Preston & Peter Dennis (Edited) "Swords and Covenants" Rowman And Littlefield, London. Croom Helm. 1976.
*H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "To Serve Canada: A History of the Royal Military College of Canada" 1997 Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1969.
*H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "Canada's RMC - A History of Royal Military College" Second Edition 1982
*H16511 Dr. Richard Preston "R.M.C. and Kingston: The effect of imperial and military influences on a Canadian community" 1968 Kingston, Ontario.
*H1877 R. Guy C. Smith (editor) "As You Were! Ex-Cadets Remember". In 2 Volumes. Volume I: 1876-1918. Volume II: 1919-1984. RMC. Kingston, Ontario. The R.M.C. Club of Canada. 1984

External links

* [http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=3677 Order of Canada Citation]
* [http://www.ola.bc.ca/online/cf/bio/gra.html Biography for interview]