Discipline of Power: The Conservative Interlude and the Liberal Restoration

Agar Adamson is the author of Letters of Agar Adamson, 1914–19 and former chair of the Department of Political Science at Acadia University in Nova Scotia.

This work is the paperback edition of the book published in 1980 and awarded the Governor General’s Award for non-fiction in 1981. The paperback edition is basically the same work, with the exception of the final chapter. This chapter has been updated to include the trials and tribulations of Joe Clark, which concluded with the election of Brian Mulroney as the Conservative Party Leader in June 1983.

When this work first appeared in the winter of 1980-1981, it was hailed as one of the finest accounts of Canadian politics to be published in many years. There are no reasons to question those statements. Basically, what Simpson has accomplished is an in-depth study of the Clark government, warts and all. The author is perhaps the premier political reporter in this country; his insight and his analysis are in marked contrast to the output of many of his brethren in the Ottawa press gallery.

This book should be required reading not only for all students of political science (as it is in a number of Canadian universities), but also for every new member of the Mulroney Cabinet and the Cabinets that follow. Simpson accurately and vividly describes the errors the Clark government made and the reasons for the Liberal return to office in February 1980.

In short, this book is a Canadian classic. The new material just heightens its usefulness, not only as general reading but as a supplementary text for university and high school classes. Simpson’s treatment of his subject is fair and objective; it provides the reader with the knowledge he is seeking. Furthermore, it is a treat in this day and age to read a work by a Canadian reporter whose concern is not his own ego, but rather the presentation of an insightful and informative work.