Hold

John C. Crosbie is one of Canada's best-known political leaders, an outspoken Tory who could have become the leader of the Conservative Party in 1983 instead of Brian Mulroney had it not been for his sharp reaction to constant questioning about his inability to speak French. As it is, he served in several ministerial capacities, overseeing everything from Canadian fisheries to international trade. In No Holds Barred, the retired Crosbie reflects on his career and his peers.

He was born in 1931 in Newfoundland, at a time when that region was an independent member of the British Commonwealth. His father was a businessman who turned to politics to promote the cause of continued self-rule ("responsible government") and economic union with the United States, although he was thwarted in these goals by Newfoundland voters' decision to become part of Canada in 1948. Crosbie himself became a vocal proponent of free trade and was a major promoter of NAFTA within Canada. "The Canadian concern about the United States and how it is going to affect our cultural values comes largely from Toronto," he writes. "It comes from the cultural literati, the encyclopedia peddlers, all those people who have a direct interest in protecting their writing, or performing, or whatever they do, from U.S. competition."

Crosbie speaks frankly about his beliefs concerning Canadian government, such as the advocacy for gay and lesbian civil rights that aggravated many within his party, and particularly the economic necessity of continuing as a unified nation. Readers outside Canada will find No Holds Barred a lively and spirited crash course in that country's politics, while its citizens will appreciate the insider's perspective Crosbie brings.