Trudeau Transformed: The Shaping of a Statesman 1944-1965

(Paperback)

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Description

This groundbreaking biography, now in paperback, continues the story begun in Young Trudeau, taking Canada's legendary Prime Minister from his pro-fascist youth all the way to his entry into federal politics as a crusading Liberal democrat. When he went to Harvard in 1944, Pierre Trudeau was twenty-five, a recent graduate of the University of Montreal Law School; true to his elite Catholic-French education, he had been till recently pro-fascist, and he disliked democracy. Years of graduate study at Harvard, then the Sorbonne, then the London School of Economics exposed him to new ideas, as did his hitchhiking travels around the world. Returned to Quebec as a new man, he engaged in educating workers and other jobs that made him a famous defender of federal democracy. He entered Parliament in 1965, within three years of rocketing, Obama-like, to the very top.

Reviews

Praise for Young Trudeau: 1919-1944
"I was extremely shocked." -- Lysiane Gagnon, Globe and Mail

"Stunning... The book offers a counterpoint to Mr. Trudeau's image as the federalist bulwark of liberal values." -- Globe and Mail

"Mesmerizing fun to read.... The Nemnis' book is one of the truly great contributions to Canadian political history." -- National Post

Author Bio

MAX and MONIQUE NEMNI are former university professors who in the 1990s acted as editors of the famous magazine Cite libre that was founded by intellectuals including Trudeau. When they asked their friend if they could write an "intellectual biography" of him, he agreed, and granted them access to his papers. Although the husband and wife team are bilingual and live in Toronto, they write in French.The translation is provided by GEORGE TOMBS, a well-regarded translator based in Montreal.