In 1978, spurred on by his own curiosity and personal frustrations with the state of Canadian politics, journalist Charles Taylor began to trace the history and development of the Conservative Party in Canada. Taylor turned to philosophers, writers, politicians, and thinkers such as George Grant, Donald Creighton, Robert Stanfield, and Al Purdy to chart the course of the party from its early nationalist "Red Tory" roots to the more conservative, corporatist "Blue Tory" tradition that Taylor witnessed with Joe Clark, and has continued with Brian Mulroney and now, Stephen Harper.

Infused with wry humour and a literary tone that eschews academic dryness, Charles Taylor’s Radical Tories has rightly stood the test of time: the Literary Review of Canada recently included it in a list of the 100 most important Canadian books of all time. This edition includes a new afterword by Rudyard Griffiths.

Charles Taylor, professor emeritus at McGill University, is an internationally celebrated public philosopher who strives to bridge the gap between philosophical theories and political action. He is the author of many books, including Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity (1989), in which he attempts to articulate and to write a history of the “modern identity.” He continued this theme in his 1991 Massey Lecture, “The Malaise of Modernity.” In 2003, he was the first recipient of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Gold Medal for Achievement in Research, in 2007 he won the Templeton Prize, and in June 2008 he was awarded the Kyoto Prize in arts and philosophy. Charles Taylor is a Companion of the Order of Canada.

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