Distributed for University of British Columbia Press
Elusive Destiny
The Political Vocation of John Napier Turner
A political biography extraordinaire, Elusive Destiny reveals the inner workings of the Liberal Party in its heyday as charted through the meteoric rise and fall of John Napier Turner. It highlights Turner’s vision for the country and tallies the political price he paid when he deviated from the Trudeau legacy on matters such as language rights, social spending, and Quebec. It also provides a new perspective on federal politics from the 1960s through the 1980s while giving John Turner his rightful place in Canadian history.
Table of Contents
Foreword by John English
Introduction: The Right Man at the Wrong Time
PART 1: LIBERAL APPRENTICE, 1929-68
1 The Making of an Extrovert
2 Circling Home
3 Getting Ahead in Canadian Politics
4 Shoals of Candidacy
5 Close to Power
PART 2: MASTER POLITICIAN, 1968-79
6 Driving the Omnibus
7 Implementing the Just Society
8 Apprehended Insurrection
9 Intranational Diplomacy
10 Shokku
1 1 The Price of Gas
12 Stalking Stagflation
13 Citizen Turner
PART 3: LEADERSHIP, 1979-88
14 A Myth and a Muddle
15 Oiling the Tinman
16 Prime Minister for a Day
17 Things Fall Apart
18 The Road Back
19 Participatory Democracy
20 Creature from the Black Lagoon
21 Image, Substance, and Subversion
22 Mad Dog and Businessmen
Conclusion: Legacies and Might-Have-Beens
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index