U.S. election interference contributed to the fall of John Diefenbaker

U.S. election interference contributed to the fall of John DiefenbakerDeja vu? Then, U.S. interference favoured Pearson’s Liberals. Today, China’s interference favours Trudeau’s Liberals Held on April 8, 1963, Canada’s 26th federal election was notable for two things. It ended John Diefenbaker’s nearly six years as prime minister, thus bringing the Liberals back to office for another extended run. And in a foretaste of current…

Time magazine was once a giant

Time magazine was once a giantTime had a uniquely American vibe – tonally authoritative, irreverent, unawed by authority, and fond of winners Time magazine – 100 years old on Mar. 3 – was the creation of Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, two young men who’d gone to Yale together. But as Hadden died in 1929, it was Luce who guided…

Michael Caine is still going strong at 90

Michael Caine is still going strong at 90Picking favourites from Caine’s extensive film catalogue is a challenging proposition The English actor Michael Caine turned 90 on March 14. And he’s still working! He plays the lead role in The Great Escaper, a story about a Second World War veteran who escapes from a care home to participate in the 70th-anniversary commemoration of D-Day.…

Nixon in love

The new biography by Evan Thomas gives us Nixon in the round, talented and tortured, ambitious and insecure

Nixon in loveA 2015 biography by Evan Thomas gives us Nixon in the round, talented and tortured, ambitious and insecure In Being Nixon – a 2015 biography by Evan Thomas – erstwhile speechwriter William Safire is quoted as joking that “The boss has fallen in love again,” the reference being to Richard Nixon’s political infatuation with former…

England’s warrior queen

England’s warrior queenBoudica’s moment of fame came as the leader of a revolt against the Romans in the years 60-61 Most legendary national heroes tend to be men, or at least that was the case in the world I grew up in. But there are exceptions, one of which is the 1st-century Englishwoman Boudica. Boudica was queen…

Jimmy Carter was an accidental president

Jimmy Carter was an accidental presidentHis nobility of purpose came across as preachy self-righteousness Jimmy Carter – who recently entered home hospice care at the age of 98 – was an unlikely occupant of the White House. You might even call him an accidental president. While circumstances play a role in the rise of all political leaders, Carter’s 1976 ascension…

19th century Scottish novelists cast a long shadow

Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson's reputations were created primarily by Hollywood

19th century Scottish novelists cast a long shadowSir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson’s reputations were created primarily by Hollywood A recent newspaper feature on people’s early reading experiences reminded me of my own, in which two 19th-century Scottish novelists – Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson – were the key figures. Mind you, they enjoyed a major assist from Hollywood…

Tying up the loose ends on Flora Macdonald’s story

Tying up the loose ends on Flora Macdonald’s storyFlora Macdonald, who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape after the Battle of Culloden, was nothing if not a practical woman A previous column took a look at the life and times of Flora Macdonald, the Scottish woman who went from 1740s rebel to 1770s loyalist. But it left some loose ends and questions unanswered. We’re…

Winston Churchill and the villainous ‘Guilty Men’

An influential book from 1940 laid the guilt of appeasing Nazi Germany at the feet of 15 public figures

Winston Churchill and the villainous ‘Guilty Men’  An influential book from 1940 laid the guilt of appeasing Nazi Germany at the feet of 15 public figures While writing a column on Winston Churchill, I thought about the so-called Guilty Men, that being the title of a hugely influential polemic first published in the summer of 1940. The book’s thesis was simple:…
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