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brianhuynh's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
French and English; Western alienation; inflation; economic uncertainty; defence obligations. Everything old is new again. A thoughtful and balanced (if dreadfully long) portrait of a wonderfully imperfect man.
alexmulligan's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. That’s how I would describe this biography. English masterfully captures the complexity of Pierre Elliot Trudeau masterfully in this book.
English focuses mainly on 1968-1984 (about 40 pages are ‘84 - 2000) and crafts a narrative of Trudeau’s four terms in Government. English writes sympathetically of Trudeau and presents him as the reformer he was. “Taking Canada from a youthful state to a mature state” as many Trudeau supports claim is neither simple or clean. English documents the challenges, conflicts, and relationships lost along the way in an emotional and riveting way.
Trudeau’s many successes- the October crisis, bilingualism, the just society, the constitution, the Quebec referendum, and his peace initiative- are all laid out in this book and explored in depth.
With access to Trudeau’s personal papers and extensive interviews with former colleagues, the reader can see the decision making that Trudeau performed and imagine the context Trudeau’s decisions were made in. At its core, this is where the book shines. So often with biographies readers are presented an image and a litany of facts. They never learn the context or choices that were available, just the actions and outcomes. English presents an in depth view of the options available and context at the time. This provides a deeper, more meaningful read, and demystifies the complex man that was Pierre Elliot Trudeau.
A must read for students of Canadian history and modern statecraft.
English focuses mainly on 1968-1984 (about 40 pages are ‘84 - 2000) and crafts a narrative of Trudeau’s four terms in Government. English writes sympathetically of Trudeau and presents him as the reformer he was. “Taking Canada from a youthful state to a mature state” as many Trudeau supports claim is neither simple or clean. English documents the challenges, conflicts, and relationships lost along the way in an emotional and riveting way.
Trudeau’s many successes- the October crisis, bilingualism, the just society, the constitution, the Quebec referendum, and his peace initiative- are all laid out in this book and explored in depth.
With access to Trudeau’s personal papers and extensive interviews with former colleagues, the reader can see the decision making that Trudeau performed and imagine the context Trudeau’s decisions were made in. At its core, this is where the book shines. So often with biographies readers are presented an image and a litany of facts. They never learn the context or choices that were available, just the actions and outcomes. English presents an in depth view of the options available and context at the time. This provides a deeper, more meaningful read, and demystifies the complex man that was Pierre Elliot Trudeau.
A must read for students of Canadian history and modern statecraft.
verdunbeach's review
3.0
For one of the Canadian greats, Trudeau was a shockingly flawed prime minister. English portrays him as a man who frequently lost his drive, neglected numerous portfolios and was a hard man to work along with over an extended period of time. Yet Trudeau chose his passions well, and his insistence on patriating the constitution, neutralizing the Quebec separatist movement and transforming Canada into a bilingual federation left such deep and lasting effects on Canada.
English gets somewhat bogged down in this second volume. The narrative is often flat with lots of detail around his various parliamentary and foreign initiatives. Sadly, it reads like a laundry list of facts and loses some of the build and excitement such complicated and high stakes political manoeuvring surely entailed.
English gets somewhat bogged down in this second volume. The narrative is often flat with lots of detail around his various parliamentary and foreign initiatives. Sadly, it reads like a laundry list of facts and loses some of the build and excitement such complicated and high stakes political manoeuvring surely entailed.
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