FAR DISTANT SHIPS: AN OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF CANADIAN NAVAL OPERATIONS IN WORLD WAR II. Schull, Joseph. Toronto. Stoddart, 1987. 515pp. cloth. $29.95. ISBN 0-7737-2160-6. CIP Grades 7 and up Reviewed by Neil V. Payne Volume 16 Number 5 1988 September Far Distant Ships is a republication of the 1950 official history of the Royal Canadian Navy in World War II. The minister of national defense commissioned Schull to write this account and made available to him all records of the Naval Service, including captured German documents, and all preliminary narratives compiled by officers of the Naval Historical Section. This is a very complete history of the navy's role in World War II. It provides interesting and detailed accounts of events involving the Canadian navy, and it also provides the background information and the context of events. Numerous well-chosen pictures, maps and diagrams illustrate the text. There is both a large general index and a separate index by ship's name. There are also seventy pages of appendices providing the names and dates for the commanding officers of all Canadian ships and command positions. This is the classic work on this topic and is still the most complete account of the Canadian navy in World War II. Highly recommended for all Canadian public, high school, college and university libraries. Neil V. Payne, Kingston Collegiate V.I., Kingston, Ont.