Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 by David A. Borys
A Non-Fiction Review by Heather McBriarty
“Canada is not a nation of pacifists. It has never been a country that decried war as some unthinkable policy. Yet for some reason, many Canadians are uncomfortable with the idea that we have been and can be a military people.”
As the news continues to document the demands of NATO, the UN, and the USA for Canada to step up defence spending, with flimsy promises from both Liberal and Conservative leaders, David A. Borys’ new book comes at an opportune time to put perspective on the issue. Covering the evolution of Canada’s military, from Confederation in 1867 to the modern combat missions in Latvia, Ukraine and the Middle East, Punching Above Our Weight is authoritative, highly readable, fast-paced and enlightening. Borys unflinchingly looks at the accomplishments of our military, the difficulties thrown in our soldiers’ path by politics and patronage, and the controversies – the scandals - at all levels of the organization.
Beginning with the Metis resistance of the 1830s to the 1880s, the Fenian raids of the 1860s and ‘70s to the involvement of Canada as a British colony in the South African wars at the turn of the 19th century, Borys paints an unvarnished picture of the colonial/expansionist beginnings of Canada’s military. Moving on to the 20th century, he details the progress of untrained volunteer Canadians in both the First and Second World Wars into hardened, elite troops who made significant contributions to the liberation of Europe in those conflicts, quite literally punching above our weight. Canada’s “forgotten war” Korea, completes the trilogy of the 20th-century Canadian warrior.
Borys then looks at the myth of peacekeeping - the “Canadian invention” - which for many of us growing up in the 1960s to the 1990s, was an impression of genial pacifism, soon shattered by atrocities in Somalia and Rwanda and the chaos of the former Yugoslavia. He then details Canada’s return to “real” combat, our longest war, in Afghanistan, a shocking war which saw the loss of more Canadian lives than the public was ready for, including the first Canadian women to die in combat roles.
Borys finishes with the challenges facing Canada’s military today in terms not only of the sexual assaults, and harassment of women and LGBTQ+ members, but also in funding, resources, and the perception of the CAF’s relevance.
This timely book traces not just our military history but also sets our military firmly in the context of Canadian and world history, in societal changes and political machinations. It demonstrates the fickle nature of the public perception of our need to spend on our military and how much that nearly cost us as a nation in the past when we were unprepared for world conflicts that boiled up. It pays homage to the men and women who have served and sacrificed without an excess of sentimentality. If a person was to have just one book on Canadian military history, this is it. Punching Above Our Weight brilliantly sums up our place in both history and the current world, succinctly yet thoroughly, reading almost like a gripping adventure novel, but one with a very important message: will we be prepared for whatever the future throws at us?
About the Author
David A. Borys is a Canadian military historian and faculty member at Langara College in Vancouver. He has been seen on such history programs as APTN’s Nations at War and National Geographic’s Hitler’s Last Stand and is the host of the popular history podcast Curious Canadian History. He lives in Vancouver.
About the Reviewer
Heather McBriarty is an author, lecturer and Medical Radiation Technologist based in Saint John, NB. Her love of reading and books began early in life, as did her love of writing, but the discovery of old family correspondence led to her first non-fiction book, Somewhere in Flanders: Letters from the Front, and a passion for the First World War. She has delivered lectures to the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, NB Genealogy Society, and Western Front Association (Central Ontario Branch), among others, on the war. Heather’s first novel of the “Great War”, Amid the Splintered Trees, was launched in November 2021.
Book Details
Publisher : Dundurn Press (Sept. 24 2024)
Language : English
Hardcover : 400 pages
ISBN-10 : 1459754123
ISBN-13 : 978-1459754126
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