Alvin: A Biography of the Hon. Alvin Hamilton, P.C.
As Patrick Kyba notes in the introduction to his recent biography of Alvin Hamilton, the craft of Canadian political biography has focused almost exclusively on national and provincial political leaders. Individuals like Alvin Hamilton, whose contribution as a cabinet minister was critical…
The United States and the Origins of the Cuban Revolution: An Empire of Liberty in an Age of National Liberation
Fidel Castro’s social revolution struggles to survive, no longer able to rely on the unstinting support it has depended on for thirty years from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. There, socialism has vanished in the twinkling of an historical eye. How…
Historical Sketches of Ottawa
At first glance, Historical Sketches of Ottawa seems to fill an important gap in the body of work written on our fair Capital city. If we consider the concept and content of old favourites like Robert Haig’s well-illustrated and highly readable historical…
Canada : Je t’aime / I Love You
Roch Carrier fait partie de ces écrivains qui maîtrisent tellement bien la langue qu’on ne s’en aperçoit pas. Les phrases coulent doucement, en portant leurs images et leurs histoires, sans la moindre aspérité, avec l’enchantement d’une musique familière. Carrier est un de…
Unfinished Journey: The Lewis Story
Through its long association with the CCF and the NDP, the Lewis family has had a profound and enduring influence on Canadian political life. In Unfinished Journey, Cameron Smith, a former managing editor of the Globe and Mail, recounts with obvious enthusiasm…
The Arctic: Choices for Peace & Security, A Public Inquiry
On occasion, books written on current topics are redundant by the time they arrive on the shelf. Sadly, this is one case where the subject continues to be of major importance in the long term, but the arguments seem quite dated because…
Une diplomatie de l’espoir. Le Canada et le désarmement 1945-1988
Il faut féliciter Albert Legault et Michel Fortmann pour la somme de travail qu’ils ont fournie dans la préparation de ce volumineux ouvrage. Une diplomatie de l’espoir est, en effet, comme son titre l’indique, une étude complète de la politique canadienne vis-à-vis…
The State, Business and Industrial Change in Canada
Except for the discussion a year or two ago about a Federal Business Development Bank loan program for strip clubs, we have not heard much about industrial policy lately. It was different back in the 1970s, when a great deal of political…
Roland Michener: The Last Viceroy
Roland Michener was not a dull man. Unfortunately, Peter Stursburg’s biography of him, The Last Viceroy, is a dull book and, in my view, fails to convey to the reader the real nature of the man.
Documents on Canadian External Relations, Vol. 11 and Vol. 18
How does one set about reviewing 2322 documents collected in two massive volumes with a combined thickness of six and a half inches? Before such a presence, imposing in its rich red and black bindings with gilt lettering, the humble reviewer must…
