Background
Barris was born in Toronto in 1949. His father, Alex Barris was a well-known Canadian author and broadcaster, and inspired his son"s career in writing and broadcasting.
(On June 6, 1944, nearly 15,000 Canadians - at sea, in the...)
On June 6, 1944, nearly 15,000 Canadians - at sea, in the air, and on the ground - joined the long-anticipated D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe on the Normandy beaches. The piece of ground on which the Canadians fought so hard against heavily armed and embedded German troops was codenamed Juno. On that day, the Candian infantry fought their way farther inland than any other Allied troops. For Canada, and all Canadians, this was a coming of age, an extraordinary moment of courage and sacrifice. On the eve of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, Barris takes us back to those momentous few hours that forever changed the course of our history in the voices of those who were there. In what might be described as Canada's longest day, we follow the course of action hour by hour, minute by minute, as we meet and follow the soldiers who leapt off landing craft into the shallow waters off Normandy, who were strafed by machinegun fire before they could even reach the shore. We meet the airmen wh
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887621333/?tag=2022091-20
(A unique retelling of WWII’s most dramatic escape, told t...)
A unique retelling of WWII’s most dramatic escape, told through first-hand recollections of the soldiers who experienced it. On the night of March 24, 1944, 80 Commonwealth airmen crawled through a 336-foot-long tunnel and slipped into the forest beyond the wire of Stalag Luft III, a German POW compound near Sagan, Poland. The event became known as &8220;The Great Escape,&8220; an intricate breakout more than a year in the making, involving as many as 2,000 POWs working with extraordinary coordination, intelligence, and daring. Yet within a few days, all but three of the escapees were recaptured. Subsequently, 50 were murdered, cremated, and buried in a remote corner of the prison camp. But most don’t know the real story behind The Great Escape. Now, on the eve of its 70th anniversary, Ted Barris writes of the key players in the escape attempt, those who got away, those who didn’t, and their families at home. Barris marshals groundbreaking research into a compelling firsthand account. For the first time, The Great Escape retells one of the most astonishing episodes in WWII directly through the eyes of those who experienced it. Joint Winner of the Libris Award for Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2014 Globe and Mail Bestseller Toronto Star Bestseller
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1771022728/?tag=2022091-20
(The story of steamboating in the Canadian West comes to l...)
The story of steamboating in the Canadian West comes to life in the voices of those aboard the vessels of the waterways of the Prairies. Their captains were seafaring skippers who had migrated inland. Their pilots were indigenous people who could read the shoals, sandbars, and currents of Prairie waterways. Their operators were businessmen hoping to reap the benefits of commercial enterprise along the shores and banks of Canada’s inland lakes and rivers. Their passengers were fur traders, adventure-seekers, and immigrants opening up the West. All of them sought their futures and fortunes aboard Prairie steamboats, decades before the railways arrived and took credit for the breakthrough. Aboriginal people called them “fire canoes,” but in the latter half of the nineteenth century, their operators promoted them as Mississippi-type steamship queens delivering speedy transport, along with the latest in technology and comfort. Then, as the twentieth century dawned, steamboats and their operators adapted. They launched smaller, more tailored steamers and focused on a new economy of business and pleasure in the West. By day their steamboats chased freight, fish, lumber, iron ore, real estate, and gold-mining contracts. At night, they brought out the Edwardian finery, lights, and music to tap the pleasure-cruise market.
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(On May 4, 1945, Canadian artillery captain David Francis ...)
On May 4, 1945, Canadian artillery captain David Francis found himself near the village of Otterloo, Holland. Shell fire on both sides had diminished noticeably. Both sides tried to avoid last minute read morecasualties. That night, the eve of Dutch liberation, the quartermaster arranged a party for the troops. The local citizenry were also invited, Francis recalled. At the height of the party news came over the radio of the surrender of the German forces in Holland ... The loud resulting cheers were suddenly hushed as all the Dutch people present stood and, with tears streaming down their cheeks, sang their national anthem, and sang it again, and yet again as these normally undemonstrative Dutch people gave vent to their pent-up emotions and the realization sank in that they were free at last of the Nazi yoke. When the German capitulation in Europe came on May 8 - VE Day - celebrations swept the continent. Festivities also spilled into the streets of Halifax, Ottawa, Sudbury, Regina and Vancouver back home. Both the liberators and the liberated erupted in fits of cheers and singing, tears and hugging, dancing, praying, flag-waving, bonfires, parades, and every other demonstration of delight imaginable. It was, to be sure, a sweet day and a bitter one for millions of people whose lives had been changed forever by nearly six years of global war. This day, and the long days of war that led to it, come to life in Days of Victory: 60th Anniversary Edition. This volume of wartime remembrance carries the reader from the early days the Second World War -- when Canadians in combat experienced more trials than triumphs when those on the homefront endured rationing, yearning and tremendous social upheaval where, beyond the wire of POW camps, prisoners (Allied and German) masterminded and executed escapes and where so-called aliens inside Canadian internment camps fought to prove their loyalty. Ultimately, the book offers the voices of the Canadians' ultimate march to victory that began on D-Day in 1944 and culminated in VE and VJ Day, more than a year later. Contained here are the stories of average volunteers, some of whom became well known after the war - including war correspondents Ross Munro, Matthew Halton and J.D. MacFarlane; broadcasters Marcel Ouimet, Art Cole and Clyde Gilmour; seamen Dave Broadfoot, Murray Westgate and Scott Young; air crew Buzz Beurling, Marion Orr and Phil Marchaldon; and army troops James Doohan and Barney Danson as well as homegrown entertainers such as Fred Davis, Alan and Blanche Lund, Murray Ginsberg, Victor Feldbrill, Robert Goodier and comedians Wayne and Shuster. From interviews, research and images originally gathered by father and son writing team - Alex and Ted Barris - best-selling author Ted Barris has broadened the initial manuscript to include stories of Canadian heroism in the Pacific war, accounts of Canadian war correspondents battling to beat the censors, more first-hand impressions of the Canadians who liberated Europe and from the civilians they liberated in Italy, France, Belgium, Denmark and finally Holland. On the eve of the 60th anniversary of European liberation this book gives voice to perhaps Canada's greatest generation, those who gave the world a second chance. The Days of Victory is enhanced by 32 pages of personal/archival photographs and maps.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887621759/?tag=2022091-20
Barris was born in Toronto in 1949. His father, Alex Barris was a well-known Canadian author and broadcaster, and inspired his son"s career in writing and broadcasting.
Barris graduated from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute’s three-year Radio and Television Arts program in 1971.
He writes a weekly column, "The Barris Beat", and is a regular contributor to The Globe & Mail and The National Post. His non-fiction works focus on Canada"s military heritage. Barris has authored 17 books
In grade school, he wanted to become a writer with his first research for a term paper, "The Causes of the War of 1812", leading to his elementary school teacher (Mike Malott) encouraging him.
Barris became interested in history and historical writing, a genre that would dominate his later writing career. While attending high school, Barris began his writing career.
He contributed stories on school activities to the neighbourhood weekly, the Agincourt Mirror, and earned spending money. Throughout his time at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Barris had a part-time job at CJRT-FM, hosting the weekend all-night show.
He also occasionally appeared on Canadian Broadcasting Company Radio as a news reader.
During this period, he began to explore documentary subjects, co-writing and co-producing half a dozen programs for Canadian Broadcasting Company Radio’s weekend youth program, "Action Secretariat". Concentrating on a career in writing and broadcasting, in the 1970s, Barris wrote freelance music reviews for the Globe and Mail and other industry magazines, including Wingit, People’s and Grapevine. He also wrote for Canadian Composer, RPM Magazine, Rolling Stone (San Francisco), Film News and Country Sky.
Barris considered a staff position with Warner Brothers
Records but chose to work at the University of Saskatchewan, writing, directing and editing educational television After returning to Ryerson University, Barris graduated in 1976 with a degree in the Bachelor of Applied Arts program While in Saskatchewan, he completed the research that led to his first book, Fire Canoe: Prairie Steamboat Days Revisited, as well as to his decision to concentrate on a freelance career.
Foreign the next two decades, Barris travelled throughout Canada on various assignments, alternately working for Canadian Broadcasting Company Radio and National Public Radio, as well as appearing on television programs as host and broadcaster, while continuing his career in Canadian historical non-fiction. While residing in Alberta, Barris continued writing based on local subjects before beginning a number of books on military subjects, an area of speciality that now is the focus of his work.
Barris is a professor of journalism at Toronto"s Centennial College.
He resides in Uxbridge, Ontario.
(On June 6, 1944, nearly 15,000 Canadians - at sea, in the...)
(The story of steamboating in the Canadian West comes to l...)
(A unique retelling of WWII’s most dramatic escape, told t...)
(On May 4, 1945, Canadian artillery captain David Francis ...)