Trudeau’s World
Insiders Reflect on Foreign Policy, Trade, and Defence, 1968-84
Key insiders from the Trudeau era offer behind-the-scenes insights into his foreign, trade, and defence policies, revealing them in a new – and clear – light.
Description
Pierre Trudeau and most of his contemporaries at home and abroad are now dead. This book offers reflections on Canadian foreign, trade, and defence policies from interviews with many of the key policy makers, diplomats, and military officers in the Trudeau government. Conducted more than three decades ago, the interviews are informative and revealingly frank. They also offer personal insights into Trudeau himself – a man of great “esprit,” who often embodied contradiction. A unique resource, this book adds immeasurably to our understanding of the Trudeau era. It also has much to tell us about Canada and the world from 1968 to 1984.
Reviews
Trudeau's World does three things very well: 1) It examines the complex and multi-layered workings of the government; 2) it focuses on and attempts to give clarity to several issues of the period that had foreign policy or military dimensions; and 3) it provides insider glimpses of that attractive but inscrutable figure, Trudeau... The book's strength comes from the interviews with people who worked with [Trudeau].
- Francis M. Carroll, St. John's College, University of Manitoba
This monograph will be well-received by scholars and graduate students alike in history and political science. It will also be a useful source for undergraduate students in Canadian foreign policy courses. The interviews fuse together large themes in the history of Canadian international affairs while they also remind us that their work stands the test of time.
- Thirstan Falconer, St. Jerome's University
Readers can be thankful for the efforts of Bothwell and Granatstein. The editors devoted substantial time, energy, and resources to organize and interview such a large and important group of policymakers, diplomats, and military officials connected with the Trudeau government... Trudeau's World is a model oral history project that will surely serve as a valuable resource for students and scholars of Canadian policy during the post-1968 Cold War era.