Fights of Our Lives

H. Graham Rawlinson is a corporate lawyer with the international law
firm Torys in Toronto. He is coauthor of The Canadian 100: The 100 Most
Influential Canadians of the 20th Century.

There is much to like in John Duffy’s irreverent romp though five
elections that changed the course of Canadian history. The Liberal Party
backroom insider uses history as his frame, and brings together much
research and analysis to offer what is probably the best readable
summary of key Canadian elections yet published. Duffy’s historical
touch is sure: while there is little or no original research here, his
comprehensive survey of national platforms and personalities is
impressive, and his sense of what mattered reliable. The book also
offers a wonderful collection of photographs and historical ephemera
from Canada’s political history, with each item well integrated into
the author’s story.

The real contribution of Fights of Our Lives, however, is not from
Duffy the amateur historian, but from Duffy the political strategist:
Macdonald, Laurier, King, Meighan are drawn less as noble defenders of
political causes than as down-and-dirty political animals, beholden
alternately to financiers, regional voting blocs, special interests, and
focus groups. But this is not a cynical book. Duffy’s writing is
smart, funny, and unapologetic about some of the grubbier moments in our
political past. And ultimately, he’s an idealist: our great political
battles, he concludes, have shown that Canadian democracy is a dynamic,
worthwhile enterprise in which the voters always make the right
decision.