Commanding Canadians

Michael Whitby is Senior Naval Historian at the Canadian National Defence Headquarters.

• Prologue: Like Cutting ButterIntroduction: An Officer and His Diary1 One Does Get Tired of Them, September-December 19432 Shaking Down, January-March 19443 Overseas, March-May 19444 The Great Endeavour, May-July 19445 Exasperation Inshore, July-October 19446 Deep Open Waters, October-December 19447 Wreck to Wreck, Contact to Contact, January-March 19458 Oasis of Comfort and Happiness, March-May 1945Epilogue: RespiteAppendicesNotesSelected BibliographyIndex

If there was one book I wish I had had a chance to read early in my career, this is it. Commanding Canadians is a gripping history of a small part of the Battle of the Atlantic, a fascinating picture of the realities of life at sea and ashore throught extended periods of operations and, most valuably, a wonderful case study of leadership. - Robert H. Thomas (Canadian Naval Review, vol. 2, no. 2, Summer 2006) Michael Whitby writes that readers of Layard's wartime diary 'will find a very human story of a man struggling to maintain his way in difficult circumstances and under enormous pressures. His success marks a triumph of the human spirit over adversity, and deserves to be known.' Absolutely. - Ken Reynolds, Directorate of History and Heritage, Department of National Defense (H-Net) Commanding Canadians is an important new contribution to the history of the Battle of the Atlantic ... Whitby has edited this important diary very well, and it can therefore be recommended to all ... - William Glover (International Journal of Maritime History, vol. XVIII, no.1)