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Jean Chrétien&#39;s critics have said he was a man with no vision and a short attention span &ndash; a small-town hick who stumbled his way to become Canada&#39;s 20th prime minister. Whatever credit the Chrétien government deserved was often given to Paul Martin, the heir apparent who was touted to be the brains behind the operation.<br><br>But while Chretien was the subject of ridicule, he was quietly giving his competitors &ndash; both inside and outside of the Liberal party &ndash; a master class in politics, leadership and nation-building. <br>His decisions, which often ran counter to elite opinion, fundamentally reshaped and strengthened Canada as it entered the 21st century. Chrétien restored sanity to government finances, kept Canada out of the Iraq war, turned a brain drain into a brain gain, and established clarity over national unity. <br><br>Relying on new evidence, detailed analysis and exclusive interviews with former cabinet ministers, provincial premiers, political staff, strategists, and high-ranking bureaucrats &ndash; many of them speaking publicly for the first time &ndash; bestselling author and historian Bob Plamondon tells the surprising inside story of the Chretien years, including: what Chretien would have done if the 1995 referendum had ended in a vote for separation; why Paul Martin secretly threatened to resign in 1995, seven years before he actually quit; who tried to convince Chretien to join the Iraq war and why he could not be intimidated into joining the US-led coalition; why a lifelong Liberal was the most conservative prime minister in Canadian history; the shocking details of the Chretien-Martin feud and the only time an elected Canadian prime minister has been overthrown<br><br>Until now, the story of Chretien&#39;s time as prime minister has been largely misunderstood. Plamondon sets the record straight and provides compelling lessons about political leadership and problem-solving from a critical chapter in Canadian history.<br>

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Finally, after over 30 years of hagiographies, comes a book that sets the record straight and tells us the truth about Pierre Elliott Trudeau. <br><br>In this unprecedented and meticulously researched sweep of the record, Globe and Mail bestselling author Bob Plamondon challenges the conventional wisdom that Trudeau was a great prime minister. With new revelations, fresh insights, and in-depth analysis, Plamondon reveals that the man did not measure up to the myth. <br><br>While no one disputes Trudeau&#39;s intelligence, toughness, charisma, and the flashes of glamour he brought Canada, in the end the pirouettes were not worth the price.

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Full Circle tells the dramatic story of how the Canadian conservative movement was fractured in the 1990s and how it was restored to glory and was returned to power in 2006. It recounts the humiliating defeat of the Progressive Conservative Party, the rise of the Reform Party, and a decade-long sojourn for conservatives in the political wilderness. It lays out, step by step, the strokes and counterstrokes, the promises made and broken, the betrayals and defections within a movement riven by faction. Based on meticulous background research and interviews with the key players, Full Circle takes the reader behind the scenes in a high-octane expos&Atilde;&copy; of political machination, intrigue, and the ultimate battle for survival and supremacy. Sweeping in its breadth and scope, captivating in its detail, Full Circle is the definitive account of this unprecedented period in Canadian political history. Even those involved in conservative politics will be shocked by the starling revelations and debunking of popular myths. The death and resurrection of Canada&#39;s conservative political movement over the past two decades is a story that has never been told from beginning to end, until now.

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An unparalleled portrait of the Conservative Party and each of its nineteen leaders, Blue Thunder rollicks through 141 years of Canadian Conservative leadership. <br><br>A sprawling, page-turning expos&Atilde;&copy;, Blue Thunder draws upon a wealth of public and private material that Plamondon has enriched with fresh insights. Make no mistake. Blue Thunder is no hagiography. This is a warts-and-all portrait that examines in compelling and revealing detail the lows as well as the highs. Along the way myths are exposed, blame is assessed, and heroes are chosen. <br><br>More analytically, Plamondon boldly sifts from the record what today&#39;s Conservatives need to learn from the past to be successful in the future. <br><br>A captivating, entertaining and definitive look at the accomplishments and failures of Canadian Conservative leadership, Blue Thunder is a must read for anyone who follows Canadian politics today and an invaluable reference source for decades.

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