In 2003 the Juno Beach Centre opened in France to document and memorialize Canada’s Second World War contributions. Juno Beach, a book and CD-ROM created by researcher Pierre Landry and two history teachers, is based on the Centre’s educational web site, making that web content available for offline users. The online, print, and digital versions can work separately but provide the most information when used together: the book, a concise summary of the online material, points readers wanting more detail to the CD-ROM, which in turn links users to the web site for further resources. All three incorporate photos, graphics, eyewitness narratives, and historical summary; the CD-ROM and web site also have interactive images (for example, you can take a virtual tour of the Centre), but surprisingly include neither audio nor film, both of which would have made the presentation less static. Though the presentation is dry, the collection of this material into an accessible format is long overdue, and thus the text will be a useful classroom and library resource (although it’s licensed only for individual use in schools and libraries, not for use on a server).

Juno Beach, despite its title, spends very little time discussing Canada’s experiences on D-Day itself. Instead, it presents an overview of the Second World War from a Canadian perspective, concentrating on people, armaments, and events. However, this breadth means that each topic receives only very brief coverage and the organization of information may not appear logical. For instance, an account of the Dieppe raid is immediately followed by a general discussion of the basic infantryman’s kit, without any particular reference to Dieppe. The text could consequently be quite confusing as an introduction to the war, but it will be a good starting place for students who wish to know about Canada’s specific involvement in the conflict.