Danny Williams: The War with Ottawa

by Bill Rowe

John Efford . . . roared down from Ottawa to St. John’s and issued his famous ultimatum to Danny Williams on Paul Martin’s latest offer on the Accord: “Take it or leave it.” Danny’s comeback? “Let me answer Mr. Efford loud and clear. We will leave it, thank you very much.” And the war with Ottawa rocketed upwards.

In 2004, Danny Williams, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, hired veteran politico and popular radio talk-show host Bill Rowe to represent his province’s interests in Ottawa. This memoir covers the eight months Rowe served with Premier Williams during what became widely known as the Atlantic Accord Crisis and a bitter, long-lasting feud between Williams and the top brass on Parliament Hill. Combining high drama and hard-hitting analysis of the ruthless game of federal politics with hilarious commentary on the very human side of those involved, Danny Williams: The War With Ottawa is the story of a defining time for Williams and his political career . . . and the story of a premier every Canadian came to love or hate.

Bill Rowe is a broadcaster, lawyer and former politician in Newfoundland and Labrador. A Rhodes Scholar, he earned a Master of Arts in Law from the University of Oxford. Other books to his credit include Clapp’s Rock, The Temptation of Victor Galanti, and Is That You, Bill?

#2 on the Globe and Mail (Canadian Non-Fiction) Bestseller List (October 16, 2010)

#4 on the Globe and Mail (Non-fiction) Bestseller List (October 16, 2010)

#6 on the Globe and Mail (Non-fiction) Bestseller List (October 23, 2010)

#3 on the Globe and Mail (Canadian Non-Fiction) Bestseller List (October 23, 2010)

#6 on the Globe and Mail (Non-fiction) Bestseller List (October 30, 2010)

#5 on the Globe and Mail (Canadian Non-Fiction) Bestseller List (October 30, 2010)

#25 on The Hill Times Top 100 Books Published in 2010 (November 22, 2010)

#11 on The Hill Times Editors’ 15 Picks (November 22, 2010)

#23 on the Globe and Mail Top 25 (Non-Fiction) Bestsellers of 2010 (January 1, 2011)

#4 on the Quill and Quire (Trade Paper Non-Fiction) Bestseller List (January/February 2011)

#14 on the Quill and Quire (Canadian Top 20) Bestseller List (January/February 2011)

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History and Politics

277 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

William Neil "Bill" Rowe, QC is a former politician, lawyer, broadcaster, and writer in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He is married to Penelope Ayre Rowe of St. John's, who is a member of the Order of Canada. They have a son, Dorian, a daughter, Toby, and three grandchildren.

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most charming thing about Bill Rowe's outlook on life and politics is his love for his home province, Newfoundland and Labrador. He obviously did not want to leave home to work as a provincial representative in the capital and he definitely did not enjoy his time spent living in my hometown of Ottawa, Ontario. Honestly, with Ottawa being characterized as a city of complainers I actually enjoyed reading all the grips he listed out at the beginning of this work. The cold, our introversion, maybe a lack of politeness and courtesy, and the ever-present issue of the homeless in our downtown core, was an interesting insight into how outsiders viewed our city. Even though Rowe paints a pretty bleak picture of my hometown, he was always ready to highlight all of his more enjoyable interactions with Ottawans, yet of course, these amiable souls always somehow seemed to end up being either from Newfoundland or married to a Newfoundlander upon further questioning.

Rowe writes with a good sense of humor, spicing up a political work to maintain the attention of a casual reader like myself, however as someone significantly younger than him his jokes definitely come off as old fashioned. Maybe because this is a political work, Rowe himself being a former politician with the subjects in question still living and holding some power, that left the whole thing feeling neutered. It's like family dinner at thanksgiving, there are certain things you can't say or talk about, and the tone of conversation is always measured. It was a huge contrast for me compared to Graham Steele's memoirs of his political life, where politicians are displayed as relatively normal people, idealistic but with their own flaws, struggling with an insane workload and immense responsibility. Rowe seems to paint everyone he meets in political life as being exceptionally amazing or talented in some way, nobody here is just a normal person. As he writes about his day to day life he adds a veneer of excitement to his commonplace happenings, like getting through traffic has to be an adventure that merits a few lines, and you get tired of it by the end of the book. A great example of this tone has to be the second to last chapter, where he just lists of names of people who've helped him, all of them Newfoundlanders of course, and talks about their accomplishments. It left me as a reader feeling disconnected and instead of building excitement for the conclusion, became a roadblock one had to slog through. Overall, I don't think this is a book I'd recommend to other people, but maybe a political minded Newfoundlander would get a kick out of it.

[Jeffrey Winsor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insiders look into Ottawa and also a glimpse into the ego of Danny.

[Jordan Maloney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and laugh out loud funny at certain points. A great read.

[Koit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find that Mr Rowe perfectly achieves what he sets out to do -- this is a personal overview, including numerous anecdotes, which gives the reader a very good look into how the near-modern provincial-federal relations work, and this from the point of view of a very disadvantaged province. 

People looking for a dry and factual account will probably be disappointed, however, as Mr Rowe particularly succeeds in the personal and humorous spheres. Similarly, one needs a sense of perspective as a similar book written from the federal perspective would be completely different -- but that is the joy of a personal memoir and one cannot underestimate the importance of these works. 

I would highly recommend this to anyone who would like to learn more about anything mentioned above or the workings of a provincial government -- or indeed anyone wanting to see how ridiculous the politics of the day can be in any of the Western countries. 

This review was originally posted on my blog.

[Jerry Cranford · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Interesting book about a successful Canadian politician . . ." -- Globe and Mail

"Bill Rowe's Danny Williams: The War with Ottawa is an enjoyable read." -- Tim Powers, Twitter

"[Danny Williams: The War with Ottawa] is captivating. [Bill Rowe] spares no punches." -- The Compass

"The most interesting political book to be released in Canada in some time . . ." -- The Business Post

"Rowe's Ottawa chronicle [is] absorbing, humorous." -- The Telegram

"I quickly realized that this was not going to be a dry political memoir. To the contrary, not only is the book interesting and revealing of this contentious time, it is very funny in places." -- The Chronicle Herald

"An exciting read." -- Newfoundland Quarterly

"[One of] three of this year's most controversial and talked about political books." -- The House, CBC Radio

"Rowe has a more humanistic side to politics. It is as if a citizen managed to be a fly on the wall while Danny Williams fought." -- Current

"An eye-opening, often hilariously funny, account of life among Ottawa power brokers and civil servants." -- Canadian Lawyer magazine

"Bill Rowe has a lot to say. There are dozens of interesting stories told, and comments passed on . . ." -- The Northeast Avalon Times

"A fascinating and frequently funny read." -- Downhome

"Written with the knowledge and insight that only an insider could possess, this book (sub-titled 'The Inside Story of a Hired Gun') is a timely reminder of the duplicity of far too many of our elected leaders—no matter what their political stripe." -- Atlantic Books Today

"The writer’s good English style — rare today — his knowledge of all kinds of personalities in the political world and his misadventures in getting a basic office set up (which took six of the eight months he was there) all make for amusing and exciting reading." -- PEI Guardian

[Doug Adamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colorful account of the conflict over the 2004 Atlantic Accord. Some of the descriptions of people and events will not please the people involved--but they were fun to read. Here and there, Rowe uses some language that is not in my regular vocab-; let the reader beware.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great candid insider romp through the tumultuous goings-on of political manueverings, as well as some excellent insight into one of Newfoundland's greatest modern heroes. Such passion is rare in modern politics, so it is marvelous to read of a politician driven by love for his province.,

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not 100% what I expected. At times while I was reading it I found it slightly disjointed, but when I finished it I found I had actually enjoyed it. There's no holds barred with Bill it seems. What I learned about the major players (including Bill himself) was worthwhile. The minor players were a bit of a sideline, almost to the point of being a distraction - but not quite.