Renowned speaker to give free presentation at COTR

The world-renowned journalist, columnist, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs, Gwynne Dyer, will give a free presentation at College of the Rockies on Monday, February 14. This will be his third appearance at the college, where he has engaged large crowds with his insight and wit on global issues.

Sponsored by the Cranbrook Sunrise Rotary Club, the College of the Rockies’ International Education department and Students Association, Dyer’s topic is an analysis of his latest book, Crawling from the Wreckage. He will comment on the recent past and anticipate what the future may have in store. His coverage is global: from Africa to South America; from Europe to the Middle East; from the United States to China.

Dyer is a London-based independent Canadian journalist, syndicated columnist and military historian.

He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1943 and joined the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve at the age of 16. While still in the naval reserve, he obtained a BA in History from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1963; an MA in Military History from Rice University, Houston, Texas, in 1966; and a PhD in Military and Middle Eastern History at King's College London in 1973. Dyer served in the Canadian, American and British naval reserves.

He was employed as a senior lecturer in war studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, 1973-77. In 1973, he began writing articles for leading London newspapers on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and soon decided to abandon academic life for a full-time career in journalism with a twice-weekly column on international affairs published by 150 papers in some 35 countries. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2010.

Dyer’s free presentation on February 14 will be held in the gymnasium at 7 p.m. at the College of the Rockies Cranbrook main campus. Dyer’s book will be available at the presentation and a book signing will follow.