The Call of the World: A Political Memoir

by Bill Graham

Overview

Bill Graham – Canada’s minister of foreign affairs and minister of defence during the tumultuous years following 9/11 – takes us on a personal journey from his Vancouver childhood to important behind-the-scenes moments in recent global history. With candour and wit, he recounts meetings with world leaders, contextualizes important geopolitical relationships, and offers acute observations on backstage politics. He explains Canada’s decision not to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and makes a passionate case for why international law offers the best hope for a safer, more prosperous, and just world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780774890007
Publisher:	University of British Columbia Press
Publication date:	04/01/2016
Series:	The C.D. Howe Series in Canadian Political History
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Bill Graham served as Canada’s minister of foreign affairs (2002–04), minister of national defence (2004–06), leader of the Official Opposition (2006), and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada (2006). He is currently the chancellor of Trinity College at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Foreign Education

1 Where I Come From

2 Out and About

3 Trading Places

4 Never Twice without a Third

Part 2: Foreign Matters

5 House Duty

6 Parliamentary Diplomacy

7 Democratic Deficit

8 Human Security

9 All Geopolitics Is Local

10 Marching as to War

Part 3: Foreign Affairs

11 Friends in High Places

12 The Unwilling

13 Picking Up the Pieces

Part 4: Foreign Legions

14 Changing of the Guard

15 The 3D War

16 Home Fires

Aftermath

Editorial Reviews

06/27/2016
Writing this political memoir, Graham, Canadian foreign affairs minister from 2002 to 2004 and defense minister until 2006, was careful not to step on the toes of his Liberal associates, thereby depriving readers of the honest insights that might make this a worthwhile read. Instead, this overly long, bland recounting of his life and career people lists people he met and places he visited, and mixes occasional anecdotes and recalled conversations with scores of pictures of himself with other leaders. He fails to plumb the depths of the political world he seeks to describe, and his occasional critiques of the electoral process or the labyrinthine Canadian parliament are made as if he were a baffled observer rather than an active participant. His self-deprecation is undercut by quoting himself (even the time-honored introductory quotation page features a quote from Graham) while including kind things others say about him. Readers may also tire of frequent references to self-sacrifice and hard work. Historians will find little new here, especially in sections regarding landmark moments such as the Canadian decision not to directly participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, though Graham does express a rare regret in failing to repatriate Omar Khadr, the youngest detainee at Guantanamo Bay, for more than a decade. Graham's book never lives up to its lofty title. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly