A Military History of Canada

Having said that, the average armchair historian may find the lack of detail frustrating, especially in areas where lots has already been written, e.g., the War of 1812 and both World Wars. This is balanced by an overarching view of the whole of Canadian history, linking themes and observing the evolution over the course of several hundred years. For me, the interwar years were the most interesting because I've normally focussed on detailed histories of certain events in my past readings. The post-WWII chapters are especially interesting and informative, and contain the most insightful analyses in the book.

There are several pages of good pictures. It's always nice to put a face to the people involved. However, the maps are generally not detailed enough to be useful, mostly overviews of the general lines of advance of the army, for instance.

So why only three stars? The title of the book may be misleading - perhaps it should be "A History of the Military of Canada" instead. Much more coverage is given to military organisation, conscription debates, etc. than are given to actual operations. I feel there should have been a better balance between these two broad areas. Even as an overview book, it could have stood to be 50-100 pages longer to flesh out the operational side. This aspect dropped my ranking for the book.

In summary, this is a very good book if you are looking for an overview of the subject. It lacks detail, as expected for its length, but this is compensated for by drawing together themes from widely separated events. The major drawback is its emphasis on the organisational side to the expense of the operational.


Desmond Morton has a knack for writing solid history   February 9, 2001
A Military History Of Canada: From Champlain To Kosovo clearly debunks the myth that Canada is the peaceable kingdom of an unmilitary peoples. In fact, Canada and Canadians have been "shaped, divided, and transformed" by war, that war has been one of the great and primal influences in Canadian history from its native peoples before the coming of the Europeans down to the present day. Desmond Morton has a knack for writing solid history with the flair of a dramatist as he surveys the role of the military in native society, how the French and English colonies were focused on war and revolved around military societies, how the young nation faced its most decisive moments of growth when it had to quell internal rebellion, and when it sent soldiers off to fight overseas in two World Wars and a host of United Nations "police actions" and "peacekeeper" missions. A Military History Of Canada is comprehensive, informative, and an essential addition to any military studies or Canadian history collection.