ReaderPerks | Behind the scenes with J.L. Granatstein
Q: What made you want to study military history in the first place?
A: It wasn’t my first choice. At Royal Military College of Canada, I wanted to study political science and economics, but found that economics was beyond me. (The story of my life, I fear.) So, I went into history and because I was in the army, I wrote a thesis on peacekeeping. Then I was posted to the Directorate of History at National Defence headquarters, wrote a doctoral dissertation on the Second World War, and later worked on foreign and defence policy as a professor. By the late 1980s, military history was my major focus, and since then I have since much on the world wars.
Q: What’s it like to have a career as a military historian?
A: It’s a good career—if you can find a job! There are only a few Canadian u...
