FRAGMENTS OF WAR: STORIES FROM SURVIVORS OF WORLD WAR II. Hibbert, Joyce. Toronto, Dundurn Press, c1985. 267pp, paper, ISBN 0-919670-954 (cloth) $24.95, 0-919670-94-6 (paper) $14.95. CIP Grades 7 and up Reviewed by Louise Dick Volume 14 Number 3 1986 May Thirty recollections of Canadians' war experiences present "young people who were the flesh and blood associated with place names and cold statistics of 1939-1945." Vivid and extremely personal, these realities of war in individual terms give a sense of immediacy and of humanity in inhumane circumstances. In September 1939, a young woman leaves England for Canada on the Athenia; after its torpedoing, she spends seven hours in a lifeboat. A resistance worker in Amsterdam evades capture while smuggling food to her family. A nineteen-year-old New Brunswick soldier is captured in Hong-Kong and endures four years in prison camps. July 5, 1944 (aboard a ship bound for France): "it seems strange after all this time to get aboard a ship and know that you're really going places," Private Eric Hibbert writes to the author, whom he married in March, 1945. A snapshot and capsule introduction preface each of the accounts. Hibbert's narrative provides the context for participants' memories and letters, illustrated in black and white by personal documents and photographs from personal albums. A short postscript gives the post-war career of each survivor. There is a bibliography and a list of photographic credits. In addition to their obvious value for World War II studies, these letters, journals, and reminiscences offer rich material for writing classes. Students of multicultural Canada could learn how the war brought here, to become Canadians, people from many countries, with varied backgrounds and experiences, including Hibbert, a war bride. Fragments of War is an excellent source for curriculum and fascinating leisure reading. Louise Dick, Branksome Hall School, Toronto, Ont.