What do you think?
When Life Changes Or You Wish It Would: How to Survive and Thrive in Uncertain Times
This is the story of a young man's journey through World War II. It covers a wide cross section of the strengths and weaknesses of young men not attuned to killing, and not mentally prepared to face the horror of seeing their close friends die violent deaths in battle. The story is about the hopes, the prayers, the fears, the daily miseries and even the lighter moments that the aspiring heroes of the Perth Regiment experienced on the Italian front as part of 11th Infantry Brigade, 5th Canadian Armoured Division.
As the title suggests, from his first battle inoculation Private Stan Scislowski realizes he is not destined for the heroic role to which he once aspired. His fears affect him deeply: his burning dream of returning home a national hero becomes more and more improbable, and his attempts to come to terms with his un-heroic nature make the war as much a mental battle as a physical one. His story is much like that of the overwhelming number of Canadians who found themselves in the cauldron of war, serving their country with all the strength they could find, even when that strength was fading fast.
Not All of Us Were Brave focuses not on the heroes, but on the ordinary soldiers who endured the mud, the misery, the ever-present fear, the inspiration, and the degradation. The narrative holds nothing back: the dirty linen is aired along with the clean; the light is shown alongside the dark. It shows what war is all about.
As the title suggests, from his first battle inoculation Private Stan Scislowski realizes he is not destined for the heroic role to which he once aspired. His fears affect him deeply: his burning dream of returning home a national hero becomes more and more improbable, and his attempts to come to terms with his un-heroic nature make the war as much a mental battle as a physical one. His story is much like that of the overwhelming number of Canadians who found themselves in the cauldron of war, serving their country with all the strength they could find, even when that strength was fading fast.
Not All of Us Were Brave focuses not on the heroes, but on the ordinary soldiers who endured the mud, the misery, the ever-present fear, the inspiration, and the degradation. The narrative holds nothing back: the dirty linen is aired along with the clean; the light is shown alongside the dark. It shows what war is all about.
- GenresMilitary Fiction
305 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1997
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 18, 2013
I cannot confess to being unbiased, as I corresponded extremely briefly with Mr. Scislowski. But what that correspondence revealed was that what you see in the book was no different than what anyone got (confirmed by those whom I knew that were lucky enough to meet him in person); a sincere, humble, down-to-earth fellow just as everyone imagines and wants their veterans to be.
The book is one of the more well-written accounts I've encountered, about a not well-known regiment. The memory of the Perths is not aided by the fact that they are not represented in the current order of battle of the Canadian Army, having been reduced to nil strength and placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle in 1965. A strong crew of living history "re-enactors" has taken the unit's history and traditions into their care, which has helped, and of course the veterans of the unit themselves have kept memories alive.
Mr. Scislowski himself was very active not just with this book, but with online activities such as maintaining a roll of unit casualties for units that fought in Italy, etc. While many auto-biographies often suffer from poor supporting images and maps, this volume has nice crisp maps and photos reproduced from the official histories and national archives as well as some documents from the Scislowski collection.
It is not often that a private soldier produces an account that is as interesting or professionally put together as this book. One of the better examples of the genre.
The book is one of the more well-written accounts I've encountered, about a not well-known regiment. The memory of the Perths is not aided by the fact that they are not represented in the current order of battle of the Canadian Army, having been reduced to nil strength and placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle in 1965. A strong crew of living history "re-enactors" has taken the unit's history and traditions into their care, which has helped, and of course the veterans of the unit themselves have kept memories alive.
Mr. Scislowski himself was very active not just with this book, but with online activities such as maintaining a roll of unit casualties for units that fought in Italy, etc. While many auto-biographies often suffer from poor supporting images and maps, this volume has nice crisp maps and photos reproduced from the official histories and national archives as well as some documents from the Scislowski collection.
It is not often that a private soldier produces an account that is as interesting or professionally put together as this book. One of the better examples of the genre.
December 21, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. My brother lent it to me a long time ago and I finally read it. Every once in a while I get on a history kick, but a famous historical incident. This book was not about anything famous or well known and it’s own importance. It was refreshing to read about something I didn’t know about and get to read first hand how it was to fight in the wars from a real person. The book was filled with detail, humour, personality and realism. Definitely a book for people who want to read some Canadian military history.
April 14, 2020
Great read
April 8, 2016
That author was in battle with The Perth Regiment from January 1943 until he was injured in January 1944. It is very readable narrative, rich in personal detail. Thankfully, it avoids the unit-level, micro-details of battle which frequently makes war memoirs read like an Ikea instruction manual. There is humour where appropriate - Scislowski's description (pp. 156-157) where he craps himself after drinking dodgy water is memorable.
This is a grunt's-eye view of war. He describes what is was like to be an infanteer on a daily basis. Scislowski speaks as he felt it - living conditions, morale, food (dreadful), fellow soldiers, training, rest/relaxation, boredom, inane orders from above, the Germans, and the experience of battle.
Don't expect discussion of tactics or strategy - this is not that type of book. But there are moments of candour which chip at some of the Canadian Army's founding myths, such as quality of leadership and it's effectiveness in battle. The few times he mentions it, relations between English and French units in the Canadian Army didn't sound all that great. (Note these are my conclusions based on Scislowski's statements.)
This is a grunt's-eye view of war. He describes what is was like to be an infanteer on a daily basis. Scislowski speaks as he felt it - living conditions, morale, food (dreadful), fellow soldiers, training, rest/relaxation, boredom, inane orders from above, the Germans, and the experience of battle.
Don't expect discussion of tactics or strategy - this is not that type of book. But there are moments of candour which chip at some of the Canadian Army's founding myths, such as quality of leadership and it's effectiveness in battle. The few times he mentions it, relations between English and French units in the Canadian Army didn't sound all that great. (Note these are my conclusions based on Scislowski's statements.)
May 19, 2012
Fantastic! Well-written, a touch of humour and keeping it real. Stan is an awesome guy and I think this book well reflects his personality and the way that he loves to tell a tale.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews