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Sharp End: A Canadian Soldier's Story
Book by Davis, James R.
- GenresNonfiction
270 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 25, 2021
Settling back in from two weeks on course in Germany, I turned back to my shelf of books that have yet to be read and picked up James R. Davis’s The Sharp End, happy to take a look at the CAF of the late 80’s & early 90’s. Ironic a bit that Davis makes mention of his time stationed in Germany, as I had just come back from a short stint there. Even more ironic were some of the key messages from this book, mostly pertaining to a CAF of days past, but still very relevant to the organization I work within today.
As I dove into the author’s accounts of time in ex-Yugoslavia working as security both in Croatia then Sarajevo, followed by a stint in Rwanda post-massacre, I found that many of the topics abridged regarding leadership, soldiering, and all-professionalism were some of those that are openly questioned and debated even today in what seems to be a never-ending media presence and unrelenting narrative of issues that currently plague the institution. This being said, what Davis provides in his account, and something I hadn’t really considered holistically until now, was how this has been affecting the soldiers at those units on high readiness, serving on domestic operations, or even deployed abroad currently on one of the several missions Canada currently has on the go.
Now I would be amiss to credit Davis with telling a story wholly unbiased, or one that doesn’t stray sometimes from the perspective we can provide as serving members. That being said, although Davis is very much critical of leadership throughout his book, he does highlight some potential solutions and offer insight into what Canada was seeking to achieve from his perspective in its peacekeeping role prior to 9/11 and the entry into Afghanistan. For that reason, I think there is a significant amount of value in this book for CAF members, especially as the Afghanistan era is behind us and we return to potential Cold War standoff with near-peer (if not stronger) powers.
Happy Reading!
As I dove into the author’s accounts of time in ex-Yugoslavia working as security both in Croatia then Sarajevo, followed by a stint in Rwanda post-massacre, I found that many of the topics abridged regarding leadership, soldiering, and all-professionalism were some of those that are openly questioned and debated even today in what seems to be a never-ending media presence and unrelenting narrative of issues that currently plague the institution. This being said, what Davis provides in his account, and something I hadn’t really considered holistically until now, was how this has been affecting the soldiers at those units on high readiness, serving on domestic operations, or even deployed abroad currently on one of the several missions Canada currently has on the go.
Now I would be amiss to credit Davis with telling a story wholly unbiased, or one that doesn’t stray sometimes from the perspective we can provide as serving members. That being said, although Davis is very much critical of leadership throughout his book, he does highlight some potential solutions and offer insight into what Canada was seeking to achieve from his perspective in its peacekeeping role prior to 9/11 and the entry into Afghanistan. For that reason, I think there is a significant amount of value in this book for CAF members, especially as the Afghanistan era is behind us and we return to potential Cold War standoff with near-peer (if not stronger) powers.
Happy Reading!
May 15, 2020
An interesting first hand account of several of our Canadian actions overseas. There is a direct bias against every trade that's not combat arms but if you can get over that it contains some great reflections on our activities in Rwanda and Somalia.
May 10, 2020
The author tells it as he saw it during his service in the late eighties and early nineties. One of the better soldier memoirs from that era.
May 29, 2012
I read this a long time ago and then lend it to my grandpa who liked it. it was a great story as I recall.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews