Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
43 used & new from CDN$ 1.10
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Memoirs
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

Memoirs (Hardcover)

by Pierre Trudeau (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 35.00
Price: CDN$ 22.05 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
You Save: CDN$ 12.95 (37%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

3 new from CDN$ 22.05 40 used from CDN$ 1.10

Frequently Bought Together

Memoirs + Hell or High Water: My Life in and out of Politics + My Years as Prime Minister
Total List Price: CDN$ 94.99
Price For All Three: CDN$ 62.04

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Memoirs by Pierre Trudeau

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

  • Hell or High Water: My Life in and out of Politics by Paul Martin

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

  • My Years as Prime Minister by Jean Chretien

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Hell or High Water: My Life in and out of Politics

Hell or High Water: My Life in and out of Politics

by Paul Martin
3.5 out of 5 stars (2)  CDN$ 23.93
Citizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau Volume One: 1919-1968

Citizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau Volume One: 1919-1968

by John English
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  CDN$ 15.72
Straight from the Heart: From Shawinigan to Sussex Drive-The Classic Story of How it All Began

Straight from the Heart: From Shawinigan to Sussex Drive-The Classic Story of How it All Began

by Ron Graham
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  CDN$ 16.02
My Years as Prime Minister

My Years as Prime Minister

by Jean Chretien
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  CDN$ 16.06
Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau: 1968-2000

Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau: 1968-2000

by John English
CDN$ 19.98
› Explore similar items

Product Details

Product Description

Amazon.ca Canadian Essential

Charismatic, bicultural, and intellectual, Pierre Trudeau was the towering figure of the Canadian 20th century. For a complete picture of his legacy one can look to his influential early political essays and to the excellent biographies by Richard Gwyn as well as Christina McCall and Stephen Clarkson, but the first place to turn is Trudeau's own account, in his 1993 Memoirs.


Amazon.ca

Will Canada ever see another leader like Pierre Elliott Trudeau? Unlikely. Trudeau was very much a product of his time and place. At the time of his rise in the ranks of the Liberal party, the country was in dire need of a leader with a vision. Too, the political machine wasn't yet so well ordered and set in its ways that there was no room for a maverick like the Montreal-born politician. Memoirs is Trudeau's quite readable account of his life from his humble beginnings in "a neighbourhood of modest means" until his retirement from the prime minister's office in 1984, with a brief chapter touching on his life after politics. Those hoping for gossipy details about bedroom dalliances with classical guitarist Liona Boyd or the party years of wife Margaret will come away disappointed. Of his marriage, Trudeau writes only, "1970 was also the year I fell in love with a beautiful girl, Margaret Sinclair. ... The romance took the press by surprise, which is how we wanted it." The divorce is also barely touched upon. Instead, Trudeau spills much ink on his triumphs, failures, and machinations while in office. Occasionally this results in some breast-beating that is almost charming in its shamelessness, especially in captions for some of the book's many photographs. In text accompanying a picture with several high-ranking Russians, he quotes Andrei Gromyko, from the Russian foreign secretary's own memoirs. "'Nevertheless, in international affairs, he [Trudeau] stood head and shoulders above statesmen of other NATO countries who are blinded by their hostility to socialism and either cannot or will not recognize the situation as it is.'" At times, such as his invoking of the War Measures Act during the October Crisis, Trudeau is understandably quite defensive. He is almost always gracious, however, and has few unkind things to say about anyone, even staunch opponents like René Lévesque. He does get in a jab at Ronald Reagan, though, who at an economic summit meeting relates a story about his days as president of Actors' Equity that has little to do with matters at hand.

Memoirs is not an exceptionally well-written piece of work, and large chunks of it might be dull to those uninterested in, say, the political manoeuvrings behind the Charter of Rights and the Charlottetown Accord. But what makes the book fascinating isn't the prose but the life revealed. World traveller, enthusiastic kayaker, cunning politician, and charismatic leader—it's no wonder "Trudeaumania" swept Canada when he first ran for office. --Shawn Conner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

Memoirs
58% buy the item featured on this page:
Memoirs 3.4 out of 5 stars (8)
CDN$ 22.05
Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau: 1968-2000
16% buy
Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau: 1968-2000
CDN$ 19.98
Citizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau Volume One: 1919-1968
9% buy
Citizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau Volume One: 1919-1968 4.0 out of 5 stars (2)
CDN$ 15.72
Memoirs
4% buy
Memoirs 3.4 out of 5 stars (17)
CDN$ 15.74
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews

 
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment, Sep 18 2005
By A Customer
I used to really like Trudeau when I was a student, and I eagerly waited for this book to arrive on the shelves. I was sorely disappointed, even for a former fan. Its all self-congratulatory chapters, and very little on details or anaylysis. We never really get an idea of what Trudeau thought - just the standard lines one would read in any newspaper. So save your money and watch the CBC television documentary for the propaganda. The CBC is good at this stuff and Trudeau is their hero.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars Better then other readers claim, Sep 3 2005
By Les (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
J'ai trouvé ceci pour être le regard très instructif sur sa vie et sa carrière. J'apprécié les parties de Québec et le FLQ.

M. Trudeau a fourni une touche personnelle ici qu'il a fait rarement. Comme un Fédéraliste vous ferez apperciate ces comptes.

Excuser ma mauvaise écriture de français.

Apprécier!

I found this to be very informative look on his life and career. I espically enjoyed the parts about Québec and the FLQ.

Mr. Trudeau provided a personal touch here which he rarely did. As a Federalist you will apperciate these accounts.

Excuse my bad french writing.

Enjoy!

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars Better then other readers claim, Sep 3 2005
By Les (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
I found this to be very informative look on his life and career. I espically enjoyed the parts about Québec and the FLQ.

Mr. Trudeau provided a personal touch here which he rarely did. As a Federalist you will apperciate these accounts.

Excuse my bad french writing.

Enjoy.

J'ai trouvé ceci pour être le regard très instructif sur sa vie et sa carrière. J'apprécié les parties de Québec et le FLQ.

M. Trudeau a fourni une touche personnelle ici qu'il a fait rarement. Comme un Fédéraliste vous ferez apperciate ces comptes.

Excuser ma mauvaise écriture de français.

Apprécier.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 		 Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
No doubt a real memoir from Pierre Trudeau would have been greatly interesting. All he left was a sloppy collection of miscellaneous writings. Read more
Published on Sep 27 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars "The dao that can be said is not the dao..."
This is as fine a memoir as one could expect from a man who kept his secret self so distant from others that one suspects he sometimes found the line difficult to cross himself... Read more
Published on Jul 21 2002 by Gregory Nixon

4.0 out of 5 stars He was Canada.
Although always a controversial man, P.E.T. embodied what it means to be a Canadian. Over his 16 years as Prime Minister he was directly involved in many major events which have... Read more
Published on Sep 30 2000 by leafsgirl

1.0 out of 5 stars Comic Book Tripe
Easily the most disappointing memoir ever produced by a Canadian Prime Minister. Trudeau glosses over year after year of his life and administration, retelling old stories with... Read more
Published on Aug 4 1998

3.0 out of 5 stars Trudeau: As Arrogant as Ever
It has been said of Pierre Trudeau that he was Canada's most influential Prime Minister. After reading his Memoirs, it is fair to say that he certainly thinks so. Read more
Published on Feb 10 1997

Only search this product's reviews


Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject


















i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.