The RCAF, with a total strength of 4061 officers and men on 1 September 1939, grew by the end of the war to a strength of more than 263,000 men and women. This important and well-illustrated new history shows how they contributed to the resolution of the most significant conflict of our time.

Brereton Greenhous is with General History, Department of National Defence, National Defence Headquarters, Ottawa.Harris Steven J. :

Steven J. Harris is a professor at the Jesuit Institute, Boston College.Johnston William C :

William C. Johnston is with General History, Department of National Defence, National Defence Headquarters, Ottawa.

'A courageous addition to what the British military historian John Keegan calls the longest running and most intense feud in the field of military history - the debate over strategic bombing. For Canadians it is intensly personal.'

Rosaleen Dickson:

'Not your average book about the war, The Crucible of War is special.'

Malcolm Dunlop:

'Crucible of War provides a wealth of material to allow the reader to make his or her own decisions.'

J.L. Granatstein,:

The Crucible of War is massively researched, a wonderful guide to the sources for all who follow. The accounts of the RCAF's fighter, maritime, bomber, and air transport operations are detailed (that on the bomber offensive alone is book-length), and this is the fullest account we are ever likely to get of the efforts to Canadianize the air force overseas.'