Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867

"Quick-paced, well-researched and well-illustrated, this is the first new history of Canada's armed forces in decades." - J. L. Granatstein, author of Canada's Army

Punching Above Our Weight takes readers on a riveting exploration spanning one hundred and fifty years of Canadian forces.

This photograph-rich history of 150 years of the Canadian military traces the evolution of the country's armed forces from a small, underfunded, poorly trained militia to the modern, effective military it is today. From the Red River Resistance and the Boer War to modern peacekeeping and the long war in Afghanistan, David A. Borys details the conflicts and operations that Canadian soldiers have served in. He highlights the key battles, decisive moments, and significant people that came to define Canada's participation and helped cement its global reputation.

Borys also explores the challenges that the Canadian nation and its military have faced over those years, including major cultural and demographic shifts, a continual struggle for resources from generally disinterested governments, battlefield failures, notorious and shocking scandals, along with ever-changing global threats.

Punching Above Our Weight brings to light a new perspective on the Canadian military and its place in the world over the past one hundred and fifty years.

David A. Borys is a Canadian military historian and faculty member at Langara College in Vancouver. He has been seen on such history programs as APTN's Nations at War and National Geographic's Hitler's Last Stand, and is the host of the popular history podcast Curious Canadian History. He lives in Vancouver.

ISBN: 9781459754126
Format: Hardback
Pages: 400
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Published: September 24, 2024

Quick paced, well-researched and well-illustrated, this is the first new history of Canada's armed forces in decades.... a book Canadians need to read and ponder.Punching Above Our Weight offers an excellent summary of Canadian military history since Confederation while providing a timely, non-partisan warning that punching above should not mean doing more with less.