- Paperback: 214 pages
- Publisher: Pottersfield Press (Jun 12 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1895900875
- ISBN-13: 978-1895900873
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#111,345 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #41 in Books > History > Australia & Oceania > Polar Regions
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
The North Pole seems an unlikely theatre of war. Yet in the 1950s, at the height of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, thousands of young men from various countries were recruited to build and operate a complex radar system across the Arctic Circle from Alaska to Greenland. The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, as the mammoth radar fence was known, was spawned from American fear that Soviet bomber aircraft might penetrate the Canadian Arctic airspace and drop nuclear weapons on American cities and military bases. This books tells the stories of those DEW Liners who worked in the hostile, remote climate of the North. Survival was a daily preoccupation in a land where outdoor temperatures can dip to minus 50 degrees with winds exceeding one hundred miles an hour while blinding snowfall whiteouts make vision impossible. The stories of the DEW Liners reveal real danger here – not from Soviet bombers but from close encounters with polar bears, job-related accidents and airplane crashes, such as the one that claimed the author’s father. There are, however, also tales of fun, practical jokes, comradery and human kindness that boosted the morale of those stationed in the far north. The veterans of this northern experience, whose narratives have been collected by the author, reveal all about their sentinel role in that tense time half a century ago when they dedicated their lives to helping to prevent nuclear war.
About the Author
Frances Jewel Dickson, born in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, has worked for the federal government, writing human resources policy for the Speaker of the House of Commons. She has lived and worked in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax. She now lives in East LaHave, Nova Scotia, where she has been researching this, her first book.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book is Worth the Search,
By Daniel L Little (Halifax, Nova Scotia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Dew Line Years: Voices from the Coldest Cold War (Paperback)
While reading the letters to the editor in the Chronicle Herald one day, I came across one letter that mentioned a book, The Dew Line Years - Voices From the Coldest Cold War. Having an interest in the topic, I was surprised this one had slipped by me and even more so when I learned it had been written by a fellow Bluenoser.
Finding a copy of the book was another matter but fortunately I was able to track down a used copy through Amazon.ca which arrived in perfect condition. Frances Dickson paints an incredible picture of life on the DEW Line. Not of the technologies involved but rather of the people who lived and died to build and man this row of stations which defended North America from a northern attack. The book tells not only of the men and women who grew to despise the cold, isolation and dangers of working in a hostile environment, but also of those who grew to love, the cold, isolation and dangers of working in a hostile environment. From Polar Bears to weather we can't begin to imagine, you will feel the pain and frustrations the Dew Liners lived with every day. Frances also tells us about the lighter side of life on the `Line. The antidotes or practical jokes and funny events will have you laughing out loud. The military historian will find this book fascinating as most of the other works on the subject delve more into the technologies and weapons around our defence than on the sometimes heart wrenching stories of the civilians, armed forces members and Mounties whose sacrifices protected us for so many years. Unlike most books based on a military subject, however, this one will appeal to anyone interested in how men and women cope with nature at its worst. [...]
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book,
By
This review is from: The Dew Line Years: Voices from the Coldest Cold War (Paperback)
This book provides a rare insight into what life on the DEW line was really like. It focuses primarily on the early years, with stories from the men and women that worked there. Their day to day lives, and the experience of living in the arctic are both described in detail, with many humorous anecdotes. Anyone who worked on the DEW line, or knows someone who did, will enjoy this book. It was a very interesting chapter in Canadian history.
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