Fall/Winter 2006 - University of Toronto Press Publishing
Fall/Winter 2006 - University of Toronto Press Publishing
Fall/Winter 2006 - University of Toronto Press Publishing
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G E N E R A L I N T E R E S T<br />
Canada's Prime Ministers<br />
Macdonald to Trudeau<br />
Portraits from the Dictionary <strong>of</strong> Canadian Biography<br />
Edited by Robert L. Fraser, Ramsay Cook, and Réal Bélanger<br />
DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY<br />
Prime ministers, the central figures in parliamentary<br />
government and the leaders <strong>of</strong> political parties,<br />
fill dominant roles in Canada’s political history.<br />
Their importance is recognized in the Dictionary<br />
<strong>of</strong> Canadian Biography/Dictionnaire biographique du<br />
Canada by the space devoted to them. Each political<br />
leader is presented by a notable Canadian scholar<br />
who, following the rigorous standards <strong>of</strong> research,<br />
writing, and critical judgement set by the DCB/DBC,<br />
has brought life and understanding to the careers <strong>of</strong><br />
the individuals who have served in Canada’s pre-eminent<br />
political <strong>of</strong>fice. Canada's Prime Ministers brings<br />
these well-written biographies together for the first<br />
time in order to provide readers with an opportunity<br />
to reflect on the striking variety <strong>of</strong> personalities who<br />
have succeeded in climbing the summit <strong>of</strong> Canada’s<br />
public life and the different challenges they faced in<br />
their determination to stay there.<br />
What insights into the workings <strong>of</strong> our public life<br />
do the biographies <strong>of</strong> these fifteen leaders provide Did<br />
these very different men have anything in common<br />
that determined their success The DCB/DBC biographies<br />
make it clear that although there is no standard<br />
mould that shapes Canadian prime ministers, prime<br />
ministerial success depends on both “character and<br />
circumstance.” The biographies suggest that one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
only commonalities between the prime ministers was<br />
an unstable mixture <strong>of</strong> personal ambition and a sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> obligation toward their country and their political<br />
party. Pragmatism in making policy and in devising<br />
strategies <strong>of</strong> survival, rather than principle or ideology,<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten seems the guiding determinant in the success<br />
<strong>of</strong> Canada’s federal political leaders. For a Canadian<br />
prime minister there is usually no higher ground than<br />
the claim to be the defender <strong>of</strong> national unity against<br />
threats <strong>of</strong> disruption and disintegration.<br />
In addition to these themes, the DCB/DBC’s<br />
fifteen biographies <strong>of</strong> Canada’s prime ministers is<br />
also an important historical reference tool, providing<br />
details about personal lives, sketches <strong>of</strong> close associates,<br />
a narrative <strong>of</strong> major events, and an assessment<br />
<strong>of</strong> accomplishments and failures set against the<br />
backdrop <strong>of</strong> economic and demographic growth, the<br />
social crisis <strong>of</strong> depressions, and the impact <strong>of</strong> world<br />
events. Together, they recreate the political and social<br />
panorama stretching from the campaign for confederation<br />
in 1867 to the struggle to entrench the Charter<br />
<strong>of</strong> Rights and Freedoms in the new Constitution <strong>of</strong><br />
1982. Told through the lives <strong>of</strong> Canada’s leading politicians,<br />
this is a remarkable, engrossing, documented<br />
account <strong>of</strong> modern Canadian history.<br />
Ramsay Cook is General Editor, Dictionary <strong>of</strong> Canadian<br />
biography/Dictionnaire biographique du Canada and<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essor emeritus <strong>of</strong> history, York <strong>University</strong>.<br />
Réal Bélanger is Directeur general adjoint,<br />
Dictionnaire biographique du Canada/Dictionary <strong>of</strong><br />
Canadian biography, and pr<strong>of</strong>esseur titulaire d’histoire,<br />
Université Laval.<br />
Robert L. Fraser is the executive <strong>of</strong>ficer <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Dictionary <strong>of</strong> Canadian Biography/Dictionnaire<br />
biographique du Canada<br />
Praise for the DCB/DBC volumes:<br />
‘No serious student <strong>of</strong> Canada’s past can function without<br />
access to this thorough, balanced and reliable source.’<br />
Roger Hall, Globe and Mail<br />
‘The range and richness <strong>of</strong> DCB biographies is a wonder and<br />
an experience.’<br />
Peter B. Waite, Canadian Historical Review<br />
CANADIAN HISTORY / BIOGRAPHY<br />
Approx. 384 pp / 6 x 9 / November <strong>2006</strong><br />
15 illustrations<br />
Cloth ISBN 0-8020-9173-3 / 978-0-8020-9173-4<br />
£48.00 $75.00 E<br />
Paper ISBN 0-8020-9174-1 / 978-0-8020-9174-1<br />
£22.50 $35.00 T<br />
Sir John A. Macdonald/Library and Archives Canada/PAC C5329.<br />
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