The Incredible Canadian
A Candid Portrait of Mackenzie King
Published on 23. December 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
464 pages
978-0-19-543890-1 (ISBN)
Description
From Canada's greatest political journalist comes the astonishing story of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. As the original edition described this award-winning book:
"He appeared to the public a drab little man, round of face and body, who spoke in banalities. Behind this facade lay the skill of a political genius and a mind sharp enough to confound all his contemporaries. Radical, reformer, scholar, philosopher, historian, spiritualist, Mackenzie King was the Incredible Canadian. He grasped the reins of a leaderless party, brought it to power and then clung to the Prime Minister's office longer than any man in the history of the British Commonwealth.
Few people have understood the convolutions of Mackenzie King's mind, his complexity, his contradictions, his idealism and devotion to Canada as does Bruce Hutchison. The Incredible Canadian has all the elements of thrilling fiction. It refutes for all time the notion that Canadian history is dull or
includes no colourful figures. This is more than a biography of Mackenzie King. Rather it is the engrossing story of the times which created the man and how the man shaped the times to suit his purposes."
The Incredible Canadian was awarded the Governor General's Award for creative nonfiction. The Wynford edition includes a new introduction by Vaughn Palmer, one of Canada's foremost political journalists and a winner of the Bruce Hutchison Award. Palmer's introduction puts both the book and Hutchison's career in historical context for modern readers.
"He appeared to the public a drab little man, round of face and body, who spoke in banalities. Behind this facade lay the skill of a political genius and a mind sharp enough to confound all his contemporaries. Radical, reformer, scholar, philosopher, historian, spiritualist, Mackenzie King was the Incredible Canadian. He grasped the reins of a leaderless party, brought it to power and then clung to the Prime Minister's office longer than any man in the history of the British Commonwealth.
Few people have understood the convolutions of Mackenzie King's mind, his complexity, his contradictions, his idealism and devotion to Canada as does Bruce Hutchison. The Incredible Canadian has all the elements of thrilling fiction. It refutes for all time the notion that Canadian history is dull or
includes no colourful figures. This is more than a biography of Mackenzie King. Rather it is the engrossing story of the times which created the man and how the man shaped the times to suit his purposes."
The Incredible Canadian was awarded the Governor General's Award for creative nonfiction. The Wynford edition includes a new introduction by Vaughn Palmer, one of Canada's foremost political journalists and a winner of the Bruce Hutchison Award. Palmer's introduction puts both the book and Hutchison's career in historical context for modern readers.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 141 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
376 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-543890-1 (9780195438901)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Bruce Hutchison (1901-1992) was one of Canada's foremost journalists. His career spanned most of the twentieth century, and he was the recipient of many honours, including three Governor General's Awards for his works of nonfiction.
Content
Introduction to the Wynford Edition ; Foreword ; 1. The Man and the Land ; 2. The Rebel's Grandson ; 3. The Apprentice Rebel ; 4. Flood Tide and Ebb ; 5. The Rebel in Exile ; 6. The First Hurdle ; 7. The Battle is Joined ; 8. The Prairie Fire ; 9. The New Team ; 10. The Royal Jelly ; 11. Calm before Storm ; 12. The Fatal Blunder ; 13. Low Tide ; 14. The Great Assize ; 15. The Brief Candle ; 16. On the Watershed ; 17. A Spell of Blindness ; 18. The Valley of Humiliation ; 19. Out of the Depths ; 20. Lunge to the Left ; 21. The Man of Business ; 22. The Pugilist and the Physician ; 23. Midsummer Madness ; 24. Under the Shadow ; 25. The Simple Peasant ; 26. The Bridge Builders ; 27. The Shadows Lengthen ; 28. The Awakening ; 29. Victory at Home ; 30. The Old Actor ; 31. The Black Springtime ; 32. A Grand Sunday in April ; 33. The Commander-in-Chief ; 34. The Crisis, First Stage ; 35. Back to Politics ; 36. The Glory and the Dream ; 37. The Crisis, Second Phase ; 38. The Executioner ; 39. The Terrible Secret ; 40. The Colonel and the General ; 41. The Last Fight ; 42. The Wrong World ; 43. The Dwindling Days ; 44. The Heir-Apparent ; 45. The Pilgrim's Return