The Blogging Tories have a reading room up on their site (featuring…yes…Adam Smith).
Since I don’t intend to read a ton of Milton Friedman anytime soon (unless the government makes me), I felt it might be a good idea to toss up a Liberal reading room. These are all books I’ve read over the past few years and enjoyed quite a bit. Feel free to recommend any others since I could use a little summer reading.
Politics
Kicking Ass in Canadian Politics by Warren Kinsella
From the Chapter’s Review Page: “A complete waste of time. Kinsella is clinically insane.” If you’re Paul Martin or Stockwell Day, you might tend to agree with that review. Otherwise, you’ll find it a fun read and you might even learn something about Canadian politics.
Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right by Al Franken
Absolutely brilliant! Franken turns the words of the American right against them…with hilarious consequences. The “Supply Side Jesus” cartoon is still one of the best pieces of political satire I’ve ever seen.
The Big Red Machine by Stephen Clarkson
Clarkson charts the Liberal Party’s dominance from 1968 to 2004, through a series of election essays. Even Tories may like this one since Clarkson is often critical of the Liberal Party, and is downright vicious towards Turner and Martin.
Juggernaut by Susan Delacourt
This one makes for a more enjoyable read in 2006 than it did in 2003, because you can look back and try and find the signs and hints for all that went wrong during the Martin months in power.
(Auto)Biography
The Antagonist by Lawrence Martin
One of the best political biographies I’ve ever read. Martin delves into every facet of Bouchard’s life and comes out painting him as a mentally unstable individual with delusions of grandeur.
Straight from the Heart by Jean Chretien
A not too surprisingly folksy book which gives a lot of insight into what makes Jean Chretien tick. People often forget everything Chretien did before becoming PM and, truth be told, it’s probably more interesting than what he did as Prime Minister.
Chretien: The Will to Win by Lawrence Martin
Martin also penned “The Iron Man” as a sequel and both are good reads although, as a Chretien fan, I’m partial to the first of the two.
My Life by Bill Clinton
If you have a few hundred hours to kill, the book makes for a fascinating read and you can learn a lot about American politics in the 80s and 90s. I’d recommend skipping the first 300 pages unless you’re really curious about what lessons Bill Clinton learned in Grade 9 band camp.
Pierre by Nancy Southam
There are a million books about Trudeau the politician you can read and, truth be told, none of them have ever stood out to me above the rest. The reason I include this one on my list is that it looks into the personal side of Trudeau’s life and has anecdotes provided by a wide range of people from Jimmy Carter to Barbara Streisand.
History
Fights of our Lives by John Duffy
Far be it from me to speak glowingly of any members of the Board, but John Duffy does a good job charting key elections in Canadian history. The pictures and battle plans he includes add a lot to the book.
Bastards & Boneheads by Will Ferguson
Trudeau was a bastard. Clark was a bonehead. I’d say the jury is still out on Harper, but he’s looking more like a “bastard” so far. This book is just funny and a good way to read up on Canadian history for those who aren’t big on academic reads.
Egotists and Autocrats by George Bowering
Another piece of non-fiction which makes for an enjoyable read. Bowering’s prelude to the Mulroney chapter where he tells the story of wanting to replace the entire chapter with “the less said about this, the better”, is hilarious and he does a good job mixing in poems, jokes, and anecdotes. Bonus marks for giving equal ink to the Mackenzies, Tuppers and Bowels (that one came out kind of wrong…d’oh) of the world.
