Sgt. Ronald Duchesne, Rideau Hall
Tim Cook seen with Governor General David Johnston, is a historian and award-winning author.Health concerns haven’t slowed down Tim Cook, who is a finalist in the Ottawa Book Awards for the fourth time. The announcement came in the same week that Cook was invested into the Order of Canada.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Cook was out on extended leave from the Canadian War Museum. After almost a year of recovery and a stem cell transplant last winter, he is unsure when he will be back at work, but is hoping to return soon.
“One of the exciting things for me is to get back to the war museum,” says Cook.
His colleagues are also eager to have him back, according to Andrew Burtch, fellow war museum historian.
“We all think about him regularly and wish him well,” Burtch says. “His absence is greatly felt.”
Burtch met Cook as a young scholar and says he has watched him advance as a historian, and worked alongside Cook with both pride and amazement.
Cook has worked at the LeBreton Flats museum since 2005. His area of expertise is the First World War though the Second World War is the focus of the book that has made him a finalist in the book awards. Cook’s book is entitled The Necessary War. This book is the first of his two-volume exploration of the Second World War. Cook’s next book, Fight to the Finish, is his eighth.
This is not the first time Cook is being recognized for his work. In 2008 he won the J.W. Dafoe Prize for At the Sharp End and in 2009 the Charles Taylor Prize for Shock Troops. In 2013, Cook received the Pierre Berton Award for his contributions to Canadian history. He has been an Ottawa Book Award finalist three times, winning the award in 2008 for his book At the Sharp End.
“It’s gratifying each time,” Cook says, adding no one sets out writing a book with the goal of winning these awards, but they draw attention to the books, which Cook believes are stories that need to be told.
The Necessary War aims to situate the Canadian experience within a worldwide context. Cook researched it by talking to veterans, reading memoirs and getting the story from people who were there.
“We need to hear the soldiers, airmen, sailors, the nurses, those who were there,” Cook says.
Over one million Canadians were involved in the Second World War. With that great a number Cook wanted to tell this story.
“It has such a profound effect on Canadians and the country itself,” Cook says. “I wanted to explore that.”
Cook recently became a member of the Order of Canada, in a ceremony at Rideau Hall on September 23, alongside great Canadians such as Rick Mercer. He was recognized for his work highlighting and promoting Canadian military history both as an author and through his work at the war museum. According to Cook, the experience was surreal.
“You’re in Rideau Hall and it’s awe-inspiring with the history there and the pageantry,” says Cook.
Among the other 14 individuals short-listed for the Ottawa Book Awards are journalist David Halton, award winning author and scholar Heather Menzies, and former diplomat Alan Bowker. Each finalist receives $1,000, the winner will receive a grand prize of $7,500.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the awards, which recognize the top English and French books written by authors in the Ottawa community.
The winner of the Ottawa Book Awards will be announced at 5 p.m. on Oct. 21, with a ceremony at Ottawa City Hall.