[.ca] Clio's Warriors: Canadian Historians and the Writing of ... (ISBN 0774812575)

History Wars and War History:
This is one of the most important books to be published in the field of Canadian military history in the last decade. Dr. Cook, an historian at the Canadian War Museum, explores the construction of historical memory surrounding Canadas involvement in the two world wars. More than 100,000 dead attest to the full commitment from the Canadian people to defend their ideals, their allies, and their country. But Cook is less interested in the history of Canadas role in the world wars, and more in how historians attempted to capture that experience in print. This is the history of history, and utterly fascinating. Although I cant do justice to this important work in a short review like this, Cook explores a number of essential, and often ignored, concepts through this deft, intellectual history. His account of the creation of war records in both wars, the influence of historical officers in shaping them, and then who got to access them, and who was denied, is eye-opening stuff, and should remind readers about the importance of records and archives, and the hidden history behind them. With no access to the archives, often the history of the world wars was left to veterans or their appointed guardians, the official historians. These official historians were given the task of codifying and capturing the memory of the war, and Cook recounts their trials at writing contemporary history, fighting wars of reputations, struggling to reconstruct the past through millions of records, and do so in a manner that did not skew the history. Official, but not history, was the remark by one British historian towards that countrys First World War official series; it did not apply to Canada, and although there was some obfuscation, the official historians fought hard to ensure an accurate rendition of the past. That is simplifying Cooks thesis, which he lays out in admirable detail and nuance, and some of the most interesting reading surrounds the struggle by the official historians against fellow soldiers, generals, politicians, and other official historians. These history wars were bitter battles involving the memory of the war, and the reputation of the nation. Cooks final chapter is perhaps most interesting in that he brings the story to the present, and is also forced to navigate the difficult issue of assessing contemporary history and his contemporary historians. He pulls few punches, and his assessment of recent historiography, history-makers, and the nature of the profession are essential reading for all military historians, archivists, and Canadian historians for that matter. This is a first-class book and will not disappoint. With Cooks first book, No Place To Run, about gas warfare in the First World War, and how soldiers cope on the battlefield, having won the C.P. Stacey award for best book in Canadian military history, few thought he would again hit another home run from the plate; but his second book has done that, and will remain a staple in the historiography for over the foreseeable future.