Tim Cook (1) (1971–2025)

This is an extremely readable history of WW II with focus on Canada's involvement. Thus the chapters, while giving the background and details of events such as the fall of France and the Battle of Britain, the emphasis is on the Canadian story. Some of the chapters cover the fall of Hong Kong, the war st sea, serving on a Corvette, Bomber Command, the destruction of Hamburg, landing in Sicily and the Italian Campaign.

Cook combines amazing amounts of detail from soldiers memoirs while giving show more us the overall picture of what was happening in that theatre and as well the place of this battle in the overall scheme pf things. I look forward to Volume Two. show less

As Cook makes clear in his introduction, it is not an exhaustive look at Canada during the war. It solely focuses on the Canadian Corps, the army faction that fought; there is nothing about the air corps, navy, home front, and aside from brief mentions of Sam Hughes (minister of militia until 1916), no political details. As the title states, it starts from the Canadian entry into the war alongside the UK in 1914, and ends with the conclusion of the Battle of the Somme in October 1916.

The show more writing is very clear and straight-forward, and makes great use of quotations from memoirs and letters from soldiers at the front. Cook does a good job to present the horrors that the soldiers had to face, making constant references to the conditions of the trenches, often noting the presence of decaying bodies and human remains scattered about. Naturally, the artillery that characterised the front is also detailed, sometimes preceding the mention of the dead and wounded.

The individual is a constant theme throughout the book. As Cook makes heavy use of soldier's writings, he focuses on them at times; for example, in several instances he will go to lengths detailing how various soldiers acted during a battle, giving the reader a close-up perspective on how it felt. This has a certain effect, amplified as some of these accounts are closed by the somber note that the soldier was later wounded or, quite often, killed later on. Though Cook focuses on the front-line soldiers, he also takes time to detail the officer corps, noting the political aspects that gripped the leadership of the Canadian military to some extent.

Though heavily focused on the battles the Canadians took part in (Second Ypres, St. Julien, Festubert, Somme, to name some), Cook also spends a good amount detailing the other aspects of the war. Chapters explaining the construction and maintenance of the trench system, the rotation of units, their training, and the medical system are just some of the topics covered, giving a more rounded and nuanced impression of life for the soldiers. show less

This book is so thought provoking. The history of the remembrance of the second world war in Canada is fraught with, ironically, conflict. This book lays out the history of this political and social battles over how the war should be remembered and how we should honor those that sacrificed. I found myself growing exasperated over some of the fights, like why Veterans Associations would not want a holocaust section in a museum about the Canadian in world war 2. Or the refusal to differentiate show more between a baseball cap and religious headwear in veterans club policies. The author sometimes provides his own opinion which did not always align with how I felt about the issue being discussed. I question the authors use of the loaded term "activist history". He leaves this term vague and unexplained as to why he thinks activism and history are incompatable.

Those things aside, I really got a lot out of this one. I've read a lot about the second world war and I found I got a lot of insight from the book about Canada's post war history. I found it fascinating that many Canadian leaders involved with the war never wrote about their experiences leading to a lack of stories about Canada's contribution. The idea that the memory of the first world war over shadows the second world war in terms of remembrance symbolism and imagery is striking although I would like to move toward a time when those two wars are seen as a single long war with a 20 year armistice. I think that is the only real useful way of learning from why the second world war occurred in the first place. It is heartening to read about and witness Canada's contribution to the war generating more interest among Canadians today. I hope that it continues to be told in diverse ways, reaching to find untold experiences and new voices. show less

Like the only other review of this book I am reminded of Keegan’s Face of Battle. Keegan asks for a different approach than traditional war histories written from commanders viewpoints. Cook’s book is close to what Keegan was looking for.

At the Sharp End is a wonderfully balanced book. It gives credit to the fighting spirit of the Canadian Corps but stays clear of the jingoistic myths that many Canadians perpetuate. The Canadians did become an elite corps of the BEF but it took many show more hard lessons. Cook covers all aspects of the Canadians on the Western Front and we see that some of the oft repeated heroic tales (Canadians urinating in their handkerchiefs to fight a gas attack for example) were but a small part of the story. But many other writers have debunked myths, the facts alone can do that. Cook’s real triumph is attributed to his writing style and the balance he gives the content.

Cook tells the story in chronological order from the excited volunteers across Canada to the carnage of the Somme. But he also inserts chapters to describe, in detail, the daily grind and realities of life for the soldier, the layout of the trenches, the thoughts of high command. All of this is given life by carefully chosen first person accounts that give life to the narrative. Slowly as the book unfolds and a soldier after soldier’s quotation about the topic in question is followed by where the man was later killed. This understated presentation does just as much to relate the horror of the Great War as the casualty numbers. show less