The Sharp End: A Canadian Soldier's Story

J.L. Granatstein, distinguished research professor emeritus of history
at York University, is the author of Who Killed Canadian History? and
co-author of The Canadian 100: The 100 Most Influential Canadians of the
20th Century and the Dictionary of Canadi

Books by ordinary soldiers in this unmilitary nation are very rare;
books by peacetime soldiers are as scarce as hen’s teeth; and
first-rate books of any genre are also less than common. James Davis’s
account of his 11 years of military service with the Royal Canadian
Regiment and the Canadian Airborne Regiment is a splendid piece of work,
well-written, frank, and informative.

Davis served as a peacekeeper in Rwanda and in the former Yugoslavia,
did regimental duty in Canada, and was on the parade square when the
Airborne Regiment was disbanded. He has great admiration for his
comrades in arms, admires some of the officers under whom he served, has
nothing but contempt for the careerists who trampled on the other ranks
in their desire to get ahead, and views all politicians as virtual
cowards, ignoramuses who know nothing of the military. Readers will find
it hard to argue with his assessments, however overdrawn they are,
because Davis simply presents events from his vantage point. Some things
may have happened for reasons of which he was unaware, to be sure, but
he tells it the way he saw it, plain and unvarnished.

What should Canadians make of his book? The most important point they
should come away with is that they are well-served by the Canadian
Forces, underpaid, underequipped, and under-strength though they may be.
I believe that the nation also receives good service from the vast
majority of its senior officers, but Davis’s case is hard to counter.