Marching As To War: Canada's Turbulent Years

by Pierre Berton

“I have called this period Canada’s Turbulent Years – turbulent not only because of the battles we fought on the African veldt, the ravaged meadows of Flanders, the forbidding spine of Italy, and the conical hills of Korea, but turbulent in other ways. These were Canada’s formative years, when she resembled an adolescent, grappling with the problems of puberty, often at odds with her parents, craving to be treated as an adult, hungry for the acclaim of her peers, and wary of the dominating presence of a more sophisticated neighbour.” – From the Introduction

Canada's twentieth century can be divided roughly into two halves. All the wars and all the unnecessary battles in which Canadian youth was squandered belong to the first — from the autumn of 1899 to the summer of 1953. From the mid-1950s on, Canada has concerned itself not with war but with peace.

The first war of the century, which took Canadian soldiers to South Africa, and the last, which sent them to Korea, bracket the bookends on the shelf of history. They have a good deal in common with, these two minor conflicts, whose chronicles pale when compared to the bloodbaths of the two world wars.

Canada's wartime days are long past, and for many, the scars of war have healed. Vimy has been manicured clean, its pockmarked slopes softened by a green mantle of Canadian pines. Dieppe has reverted to a resort town, its beaches long since washed free of Canadian blood. Nowadays, Canadians are proud of their role as Peacekeepers, from which they have gained a modicum of international acclaim the nation has always craved, with precious little blood wasted in the process.

In this monumental work, Pierre Berton brings Canadian history to life once again, relying on a host of sources, including newspaper accounts and first-hand reports, to tell the story of these four wars through the eyes of the privates in the trenches, the generals at the front, and the politicians and families back home. By profiling the interwar years, Berton traces how one war led to the next, and how the country was changed in the process. Illustrated with maps and line drawings, Marching as to War describes how the experience of war helped to bind Canada together as a nation and chronicles the transformation of Canada's dependence upon Great Britain and its slow emergence as an independent nation caught in a love-hate relationship with the United States.

Genres: History, Canada, Nonfiction, World War I, World War II, War, Historical

640 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, CC, O.Ont. (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a Canadian historian, writer, journalist and broadcaster.


From narrative histories and popular culture, to picture and coffee table books to anthologies, to stories for children to readable, historical works for youth, many of his books are now Canadian classics.

Born in 1920 and raised in the Yukon, Pierre Berton worked in Klondike mining camps during his university years. He spent four years in the army, rising from private to captain/instructor at the Royal Military College in Kingston. He spent his early newspaper career in Vancouver, where at 21 he was the youngest city editor on any Canadian daily. He wrote columns for and was editor of Maclean's magazine, appeared on CBC's public affairs program "Close-Up" and was a permanent fixture on "Front Page Challenge" for 39 years. He was a columnist and editor for the Toronto Star, and a writer and host of a series of CBC programs.

Pierre Berton has received over 30 literary awards including the Governor-General's Award for Creative Non-Fiction (three times), the Stephen Leacock Medal of Humour, and the Gabrielle Leger National Heritage Award. He received two Nellies for his work in broadcasting, two National Newspaper awards, and the National History Society's first award for "distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history." For his immense contribution to Canadian literature and history, he has been awarded more than a dozen honourary degrees, is a member of the Newsman's Hall of Fame and a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Reviews

[Bradley Arlt]

This book changed my view on Canadian war history. I never thought of WW1 in the terms illustrated in this book - largely pointless. Even less did I consider that maybe Canada shouldn't have been in many of the defining major struggles of the 20th century (and late 19th).

There are a few laughs in this book, I love the plan to surveil the US and their plan to do the same. It smacked much of the film Canadian Bacon (a box office flop but I liked it).

There is also a lovely portrayal of the Canadian political talent of trying to be the middle of the road, and also why - in Canada anyway - this is a vital position to take. Not just to win an election, but to hold the country together. The art of compromise so that suicide bombers or separatists aren't needed... errr... or at least aren't too successful.

If you like history, or want to know a bit more of Canadian Military past, this is a great read.

[Kathleen McRae]

Excellent read! Pierre Burton mixes great storytelling skills with humor.I like his concise way of delivering the story. There was a lot of history covered in this book and the research for his material must have been an incredible amount of work.The book covers four wars in the twentieth century that Canada participated in and also describes how Canada dealt with events both as a nation and politically.

[Daniel Kukwa]

Another superbly-written historical saga. This is the be-all/end-all of Canada's war record from 1899 to 1953...and if it's the ONLY book you ever read on such a broad, epic topic, it will be enough. Absolutely stupendous!

[Aaron M]

An magisterial treatment of Canadian military history, focusing on the major conflicts from the century or so preceding: The Boar War, The Great War, The Global War and the Korean War. Berton's approach to tackling such a large area is to highlight particular smaller events or crises from each conflicts that capture the spirit of the time. His writing is pithy and forceful throughout. Highly recommended.

[Susie]

Excellent book about our history, starting at the Boer war years until the end of the Korean war. Now I understand a lot more about those years. Frustrating how many incompetent war leaders have caused so many deaths of the little soldier.

[Duane Leon]

A great book to show that Canada has a great military history. The soldier stories are compelling with great detail. Though this is a long book, 640 pages, I found that the pages went by quickly, so much so that I read it a second time within a couple of months reading it the first time.

[Hermano]

A good decent read on some very complicated topics in Canadian history. I found I enjoyed this book even though it briefly touched 4 different wars and Can social history during those wars. Good research from a journalist's perspective.

[Denise]

Not just the wars. Includes events leading up to and after each war.

[Luis Gurley]

Great book so far. Excellent account on the wars where Canada was involved in the XXth century,

[Maxwell Thornton]

Great writing, questionable history.

Pierre Berton can surely write well, as if he is speaking in his TV programmes from the last century, yet I could not give this book by an iconic Canadian author since its history is flawed at times. This is namely seen when Berton covers World War I. He seemed to not understand high command and tactics of the First World War, unfortunately giving way to the 'lions led by donkeys' myth.

Further, his interpretation of Canadians not being a 'warlike people' in comparison to the Americans (preferring peacekeeping to warfare) seems prideful and immature, especially since many UN peacekeeping missions since Congo have had mixed results, not to mention that the Canadian army's role as being peacekeepers would downgrad its capabilities, as we would find out later.

While I do appreciate learning about late victorian society, norms, beliefs, and the history of Canadian politics, I found it odd that Berton largely left out First Nations history, scarcely mentioning the residential schools.

In the end, I think this work was written for a Canadian audience in the 1980s and 1990s, following a mindset akin to Pierre Elliot Trudeau. As I said, Berton is a great writer and speaker, but I couldn't put him on the same level as other Canadian historians like Morton and Granatstein.

[Jay Warner]

Marching as to War concentrates on the years 1899-1953, years in which Canada fought its four biggest wars: the Boer War, the Great War, the Second World War, and the Korean War. The author, Pierre Berton, explores not only the wars themselves and how they affected the growth and development of Canadian politics, but he also talks about the music, literature, popular thought, and war propaganda that permeated Canadian culture during these very important years. I found the book to be very readable and engaging. I learned a lot about the period of time when my parents and grandparents lived in Canada and took part in Canadian life, including war. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history, war history, Canada, or politics.

[Vitor Luz]

As a foreigner, seeing the Canadian perspective on both World Wars was very interesting. I was not aware of how big the human and political cost was for Canada, involving many deaths but also a conscription crisis in Quebec and a forced "coming of age" of a young country trying to figure out how it exists separate from the British Empire.

Pierre Berton mixes the main relevant facts, with inside political stories, a touch of war strategy on the field and several interesting individual perspectives on small particular experiences (either his, from soldiers on the field or civilians caught in the middle).

[Marc Chénier]

All in all this was a pretty interesting book but to me was spread too thinly. Each of the four wars could have been probed separately and more deeply in four books. Pierre Berton has a way of making Canada's history not only a subject of pride but also of shame. I think it's important that when reading about your country's past that all aspects of the story should be divulged be be it good or bad. Berton gives us all this and more and every Canadian should try reading his works.

Next hardcover: "Prisoners Of The North" by Pierre Berton (2004)

[René]

This is an outstanding book on Canada's military history in the 20th Century and its search for a place as a major and independant nation on the world stage. Written shorthly before this role changed in Afghanistan, it also underlines very well how futile war is, as well as its effect on the mostly young men who either enrol or are forced into a role for which they were not trained or ready to face.

[Larry Willoughby]

Another Pierre Berton masterpiece who makes Canadian history very interesting and always provides new insights. A great mix of Berton's analysis combined with quotes from soldiers and politicians. Definitely got a better understanding of the Korean conflict which tends to get very little coverage in Canadian history courses.

[John]

Not exactly what I was expecting. There is a lot more politics, both federal and military, than there are war stories. Battles from the Boer War, WW1, WW2, and the Korean war are used as illustrations of the Canadian military's move away from being commanded by the British to becoming and independent fighting force. Lots of interesting Canadian history here.

[Jim Peplinski]

Read it years ago. A worthwhile read to reconcile the honor and heroics of the soldiers we celebrate with the pointless and often incompetent leadership of those who get us into wars. Hopefully people can learn to live peacefully together.

[Nathan]

It's a good overview of the combat Canadians have seen, but it should be understood that this is not a history book, it is written with a clear perspective on where Canada should position itself, as well as political values.

[Jäger]

A solid examination of Canada's wars of the first half of the 20th century and the periods between them. Berton's always readable prose is informative and entertaining. Anyone that would like to increase their knowledge of Canada's history could do far worse than to read this.

[Blaine]

I have always enjoyed Pierre Berton's books. This one was an overview of Canadian involvement in global conflicts from the Boer war through to the Korean War. Sad tales to humorous ones and how politicians often had to walk the fine line of politics in order to maintain national unity.

[Rusty Berr]

An exploration of Canada's role in four major conflicts of the 20th century.
Pierre Burton's writing style is one where history is brought to the reader via engrossing tales.
He has the knack of taking "dry" historical material and creating a readable yarn.

[Jim]

It was good, but I liked the war of 1812 series better. This often read more like a lit review than the story-telling style of some of his other books. Still had lots of interesting info.

[Leif]

Interesting, not super in depth into any of the wars but a very good overview.

[Kaylie]

This is a great book on the history of Canada and the resilience of the people that inhabit the land. though i did not finish it, I likely will return to this book in the near future to finish it.

[Lyle Nicholson]

You have to be a real history buff to read this. I was doing research on a Bio about my Grandfather's and Dad's war years and found this book to be a compelling read.

For those not familiar with Pierre Burton, he was a journalist, then a feature writer for Canada's MacLean's magazine, a commentator on news magazine shows and a prolific author. Most of what he wrote was about Canada's history of coming from a frontier society to where it is now.

What I enjoyed is how he described each conflict that Canada entered, the politics of the time and the mood of the people. This is a writer who had a true grasp of the time he was writing about. You can see his journalist viewpoint popping up time after time in his who,what, where and when formula but it works well in this book.

The book is long, however, it is divided into sections of each conflict and it makes an easy read. I'll be looking of this author. It's too bad I never found him when he was alive.

[Amanda]

I decided to put this one down. Reading it cover to cover is not working for me as a full time student. This book was written for a large audience and I will definitely implement this in my classroom or research in the future. Berton is a really good history writer, humorous and engaging but he is not shy to let the reader know where he stands. I have grown accustomed to dry history writing which attempts to stay away from bias so Berton is an adjustment for that. I feel high school students will be able to read passages and understand a particular battle or grasp individual players in the battles of the many wars Canada participated in. Recommend this book.

[Kate G]

This is a great book that goes into a lot of depth about Canada's point of view, it was written really well and very accessible. I loved how it was broken up not only into the parts about the wars but also the inter war years which added context. Would recommend to anyone interested in learning more about Canada's contribution to the various war efforts.

[Terrance Kutney]

A concise and interesting history of the Canada's "War Years".

[Robert Davidson]

I have read this book before and enjoyed it even more on a second reading. This time it was for the purpose of research and it provided a wealth of information presented in an affable manner.