Joey Jacobson's War (Paperback)

Peter J. Usher

ISBN 10: 1771123427 / ISBN 13: 9781771123426

Published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Waterloo, Ontario, 2018

About this Item

Paperback. In the spring of 1940 Canada sent hundreds of highly trained volunteers to serve in Britain's Royal Air Force as it began a concerted bombing campaign against Germany. Nearly half of them were killed or captured within a year. This is the story of one of those airmen, as told through his own letters and diaries as well as those of his family and friends.Joey Jacobson, a young Jewish man from Westmount on the Island of Montreal, trained as a navigator and bomb-aimer in Western Canada. On arriving in England he was assigned to No. 106 Squadron, a British unit tasked with the bombing of Germany. Joey Jacobson's War tells, in his own words, why he enlisted, his understanding of strategy, tactics, and the effectiveness of the air war at its lowest point, how he responded to the inevitable battle stress, and how he became both a hopeful idealist and a seasoned airman. Jacobson's written legacy as a serviceman is impressive in scope and depth and provides a lively and intimate account of a Jewish Canadian's life in the air and on the ground, written in the intensity of the moment, unfiltered by the memoirist's reflection, revision, or hindsight. Accompanying excerpts from his father's diary show the maturation of the relationship between father and son in a dangerous time. In the spring of 1940 Canada sent hundreds of volunteers to serve in Britain's Royal Air Force as it began a concerted bombing campaign against Germany. Nearly half of them were killed or captured within a year. This is the story of one of those airmen, as told through his own letters and diaries as well as those of his family and friends. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781771123426

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Joey Jacobson's War (Paperback)
• Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Waterloo, Ontario
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1771123427
• ISBN 13: 9781771123426
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

In the spring of 1940 Canada sent hundreds of highly trained volunteers to serve in Britain's Royal Air Force as it began a concerted bombing campaign against Germany. Nearly half of them were killed or captured within a year. This is the story of one of those airmen, as told through his own letters and diaries as well as those of his family and friends.


Joey Jacobson, a young Jewish man from Westmount on the Island of Montreal, trained as a navigator and bomb-aimer in Western Canada. On arriving in England he was assigned to No. 106 Squadron, a British unit tasked with the bombing of Germany. Joey Jacobson’s War tells, in his own words, why he enlisted, his understanding of strategy, tactics, and the effectiveness of the air war at its lowest point, how he responded to the inevitable battle stress, and how he became both a hopeful idealist and a seasoned airman. Jacobson's written legacy as a serviceman is impressive in scope and depth and provides a lively and intimate account of a Jewish Canadian's life in the air and on the ground, written in the intensity of the moment, unfiltered by the memoirist's reflection, revision, or hindsight. Accompanying excerpts from his father's diary show the maturation of the relationship between father and son in a dangerous time.

About the Author

Peter J. Usher was born in Montreal in 1941. For many years he studied, wrote about, and advised on the environmental and social effects of resource development in Canada's North. Inspired by his cousin Joey Jacobson's letters and diaries, he began writing about the experience of Canadian airmen in the Second World War. He is married and lives near Clayton, Ontario.