Dance of the DialecticSubtitled "How Pierre Elliot Trudeau went from Philosopher-King to the Incorruptible Robespierre to Philosopher-Queen Marie Antoinette to Canada's Generalissimo and then to Mackenzie King and Even Better," Larry Zolf's book is a vital time capsule of the early 1970s Trudeau-manical hangover. Dance of the Dialectic is a fast-paced account of Canadian politics in the shadow of the Centennial and Expo, an account of how Pierre Elliot Trudeau's government and the Ottawa press gallery together made and re-made the political mood in the country. Zolf records how the media "discovered" Trudeau and made him leader of the Liberal party, how they gradually turned Robert Stanfield and David Lewis into believable opponents, and how the '72 election produced a markedly different style of Trudeau government. Zolf's account is an amazing combination of gags, one-liners, puns and sharp-eyed political commentary: a book about Canadian politics like no one has ever written before or since. |
Contents
Trudeau as Oscar the Socratic Academy Award | 3 |
The Global Village Idiots | 11 |
From the Good Old Seven Days to the Brightest and the Best | 23 |
Bread on the Waters of the Rideau | 31 |
The Revolt of the Peasant Paparazzi | 43 |
From Forlorn Bob to Robert Lazarus | 55 |
From David to Goliath and Back Again | 63 |
All Quiet on the Lyceum Front | 73 |
The Jaded Observer in Happy | 83 |
The Folding of the Universe | 95 |
Epilogue | 111 |