Golden Boy

Books on prime ministers seem to be a hot item these days. The Unexpected Louis St-Laurent, a collection of essays about one of the country’s most effective leaders, edited by Patrice Dutil, appeared in 2020. And last year, in what may well be a first for publishing in this country, three books hit the shelves chronicling the lives of former PMs: Michael Hill’s The Lost Prime Ministers, Ted Glenn’s A Very Canadian Coup, and, perhaps the most anticipated of these, Steve Paikin’s John Turner.

Paikin’s is not the first biography of the late politician, and he wisely acknowledges Paul Litt’s superb Elusive Destiny: The Political Vocation of John Napier Turner in his introduction. That book appeared just over a decade ago — so why another volume about a man who was in charge for only seventy-nine days? In short, Paikin explains, “the lure of John...