[van-announce] Book Launch: Blowback: A Canadian History of Agent Orange and the War at Home

[Anthony Fenton]

Book Launch: Blowback: A Canadian History of Agent Orange and the War  
at Home

“The story of the spraying of Agent Orange in the forested areas of  
New Brunswick is a scandal that needs to be told. Blowback makes a  
great start.”
— Elizabeth May, Leader, Green Party of Canada

What: Book Launch (info on the book below)

Where: University of British Columbia, Meekison Arts Students' Space  
(MASS) in Buchanan D-140.
http://www.aus.ubc.ca/index.php?page=booking

When: Thursday, March 19, 5-7pm

Why: Because the Canadian Government sprayed more than 1,328,767  
litres of Agent Orange and other toxins across New Brunswick. This is  
something you should know about.

Who should come:  Everyone is invited.

For more information on the book: http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/365


Blowback
A Canadian History of Agent Orange and the War at Home
Chris Arsenault
The village of Enniskillen, a sleepy cluster of a few dozen houses in  
New Brunswick’s Queens County, has never been invaded by a foreign  
power. But during the 1950s to 1970s, the village was ground zero for  
a different kind of offensive, this one launched by the American and  
Canadian military against its own people with the deadly dioxin Agent  
Orange. Between 1956 and 1984 the Canadian military and its private  
subcontractors sprayed more than 1 million litres of rainbow  
herbicides around New Brunswick. The American military was invited to  
test Agent Purple and other toxins on Canadian soil after the  
chemicals had been banned by the U.S. Congress.

This is the story of a war coming home; a story of the military and  
economic currents that allowed Agent Orange to blow through trees and  
into rivers in New Brunswick. More than anything, it’s a story of  
soldiers, civilians and local residents who blew back against the  
government and companies who poisoned them.

“Chris Arsenault’s tenacious reporting uncovers an important, and  
untold, chapter in Canada’s history. This book shows how Agent Orange  
and its toxic friends continue to poison people and ecosystems around  
the world—and frequently, in our own back yard. In telling this story,  
Arsenault has shown the diligence of a historian, the righteousness of  
a crusader, and best of all, the legwork of a private eye. It’s a  
humane and engaging combination.” — Graham F. Scott, Editor This  
Magazine

“Chris Arsenault is a crack young Canadian investigative journalist  
who in his very brief
career has already broken several important stories. This book is an  
impeccably researched study of a little known tragedy about the use of  
Agent Orange of Vietnam infamy at the Canadian Forces Base at  
Gagetown, New Brunswick. This is investigative journalism at its  
best.” — Cy Gonick, publisher Canadian Dimension, Professor of  
Economics Emeritus, University of Manitoba

“In Blowback Arsenault lifts the curtain on a shocking and shameful  
period in Canada’s history. Exploring the intersection of militarism,  
imperialism, and the subversion of democracy in favour of corporate  
interests, Blowback is also the story of ordinary people challenging  
elite interests, told in their own voices. A powerful example of the  
promise of investigative journalism, Blowback is a people’s story of  
resistance to a war machine both at home and abroad.” — Alex  
Khasnabish, Assistant Professor, Mount Saint Vincent University