Pierre Trudeau and most of his contemporaries at home and abroad are now dead. This book offers reflections on Canadian foreign, trade, and defence policies from interviews conducted more than three decades ago with key policy makers, diplomats, and military officers in the Trudeau government and of that era.

The interviews are informative and revealingly frank. There is much on the enormous difficulties in dealing with the United States, Europe, NATO, the Soviet Union, and Communist China in an era dominated by the Cold War. There are also personal insights into Trudeau himself – a man of great “esprit,” who initially seemed destined to change Canadian policy in a dramatic fashion. Over time, however, this was not to be, and his government policies reverted towards the norm.

A unique resource, Trudeau’s World adds immeasurably to our understanding of the Trudeau era. It also has much to tell us about Canada and the world from 1968 to 1984.

Robert Bothwell is professor of history and director of the International Relations Program at the University of Toronto.Jean Daudelin is assistant professor at The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University.

Robert Bothwell's profile page

J. L. GRANATSTEIN is the author of over 60 books, including the bestsellersWho Killed The Canadian Military? and Whose War Is It?, along withYankee Go Home?, Victory 1945 and The Generals, which won the J. W. Dafoe Prize and the UBC Medal for Canadian Biography. A distinguished research professor of history emeritus at York University, he was a member of the RMC Board of Governors and is chair of the Advisory Council of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute. He lives in Toronto. Visit Granatstein atwww.whosewar.ca.

J.L. Granatstein's profile page

Trudeau's World does three things very well: 1) It examines the complex and multi-layered workings of the government; 2) it focuses on and attempts to give clarity to several issues of the period that had foreign policy or military dimensions; and 3) it provides insider glimpses of that attractive but inscrutable figure, Trudeau... The book's strength comes from the interviews with people who worked with [Trudeau].

Manitoba History, No. 90

This monograph will be well-received by scholars and graduate students alike in history and political science. It will also be a useful source for undergraduate students in Canadian foreign policy courses. The interviews fuse together large themes in the history of Canadian international affairs while they also remind us that their work stands the test of time.

Left History, Vol. 22, No. 1

Readers can be thankful for the efforts of Bothwell and Granatstein. The editors devoted substantial time, energy, and resources to organize and interview such a large and important group of policymakers, diplomats, and military officials connected with the Trudeau government... Trudeau's World is a model oral history project that will surely serve as a valuable resource for students and scholars of Canadian policy during the post-1968 Cold War era.