Right Honourable Men: The Descent of Canadian Politics from MacDonald to Chrétien

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Harper Collins, Mar 13, 2012 - History - 384 pages

Updated with an insightful and controversial assessment of Jean Chrétien

Since first published in 1994, Right Honourable Men has remained the definitive source for Canadians wanting to know more about the quality of our leaders and the personalities behind the policies. Now, in this timely new edition, Bliss evaluates Jean Chrétien's record and asserts that he was actually a conservative prime minister -- as conservative as Mulroney himself. And Chrétien's legacy? A decade of squandered opportunities, national decline, and dashed hopes of real reform.

From the visionary Macdonald, the reckless Laurier, and the misunderstood King, to the flamboyant Trudeau, the vainglorious Mulroney and the wily Chrétien, Right Honourable Men defines the essence of political leadership in Canada, sets the standard for rating prime ministers, and provides a fascinating roadmap for our past -- and our future.

From inside the book

Contents

Cover
1840
LAURIER Aristocratic Canadian
1879
BORDEN Among the Beasts of Ephesus
1910
MACDONALD The Crisis of the SelfMade Leader
KING Dividing Us Least
KING Welfare Liberalism
DIEFENBAKER Trying Tory Populism
PEARSON Middle Innings
TRUDEAU The Politics of Confrontation
MULRONEY Throwback
CHRÉTIEN Were Number Eight
Acknowledgements
Copyright
Copyright

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About the author (2012)

Michael Bliss is University Professor of History at the University of Toronto and one of Canada's most distinguished historians. His eleven books include Plague: How Smallpox Devastated Montreal, which was shortlisted for a Governor General's Award, and William Osler: A Life in Medicine. He has won numerous Canadian and international awards, is a Member of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and has received Honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from McGill and McMaster universities.

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