Winner of the 2012 Heritage Toronto Award of MeritStanley Barracks begins with the construction in 1840-41 of the new facility that replaced the then decaying Fort York Barracks. The book recounts the background of the last facility operated by the British military in Toronto and how Canadas own Permanent Force was developed. During the course of the stories told in this history, we learn about Canadian participation in war, including the two world wars and the barracks use as an internment camp for "enemy aliens"; civil-military relations as Torontos expansion encroached on the lands and buildings of the barracks; the establishment and growth of Torontos Canadian National Exhibition; the struggles and discrimination faced by immigrants in Canada in wartime; the employment of the barracks as emergency housing during Torontos post-war housing shortage; and the origins of Canadas famed Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In short, Stanley Barracks is the story of Toronto.

Aldona Sendzikas was formerly the assistant curator at Historic Fort York, and during that time became very familiar with Toronto's military history. Currently, she teaches Military History, among other history courses, at the University of Western Ontario. She lives in London, Ontario.