On the Eve of Thanksgiving a black cloud hangs over us – since 2001, approximately 2100 United States military men and women have committed suicide. This was a front page story in the paper a few days ago. Staggering number in its own right. When you consider that this figure is roughly half of those killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and more than twice those killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), you begin to appreciate…

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World War I has been on my mind a lot lately. All Quiet on the Western Front planted the seed a long time ago. There followed A Farewell to Arms, The Guns of August, and The Four Horseman of The Apocalypse (by the Spanish writer, Blasco Ibañez), among others. Recently, Deafening, by the Canadian writer, Frances Itani, presented a unique perspective from which to view the impact of the “Great War” on everyday people as…

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