by Peter Usher
Canada is the poorer this week with the loss of Tim Cook, our premier military historian. He was a dedicated researcher, a fine writer, and a great story teller. He came to Almonte several times to talk about his books, always well-attended and informative events. He once told a group of us here that he tried to write 1000 words a day. For an historian that requires as much research as writing time. He was driven to write, and he was a great inspiration to those of us with similar interests but lesser talents. Who will fill his shoes?
Some readers will dismiss military history as nothing more than the glorification of war and warriors, or tedious accounts of battles, tactics, and machines. Tim Cook wrote about much more than that. His books remind us of the determination and grit of so many ordinary Canadian men and women who put aside their comforts and their prospects for however long it might take to defeat what they recognized as a dire threat to humanity and civilization. He rightly characterized the Second World War as the necessary war. His last book, The Good Allies, provides essential background for thinking about our current situation with the United States.
It’s important to remember what so many Canadians did three generations ago, and why they did it. After all this time we are again facing similar threats. We need to demonstrate their courage and conviction in our day, and act in sufficient unity to be effective.
