A Life of Learning and Other Pleasures: John Meisel's Tale

by John Meisel

This engaging autobiographical account traces the remarkable life and career of John Meisel, Canadian political scientist, professor, and public intellectual. The memoir is witty and insightful, filled with stories and personalities that will both inspire and challenge readers the world over. Peter C. Newman, former editor of Maclean's and the Toronto Star, has this to say about the book:,"John Meisel is a national treasure - with a Moravian accent. His life and times have bridged fabulous careers in academia and public affairs, anointing each with the grace of his thoughts and the cadence of his words. This is a book for the ages." Learn more about the book through Wintergreen Studios Press (www.wintergreenstudiospress.com).

422 pages, Paperback

First published April 16, 2012

About the author

John Meisel was a Canadian political scientist, professor, and scholar, and chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
Meisel wrote on various aspects of politics, notably on parties, elections, ethnic relations, politics and leisure culture, and, at the beginning of his academic career, international politics.
Meisel was a pioneer in Canada of research on electoral behaviour, political parties and the relationship between politics and leisure culture, particularly the arts. Throughout his career he examined the cohesion (or its absence) of the Canadian communities. He also lectured and wrote about regulation, broadcasting, telecommunications, and the information society.

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can be found on Amazon. It is an amazing tale of a time that is now passed but was a formative period for Canadian culture. John Meisel is Czech and started his life in Austria and leaving Europe when the Second World War started heating up. I love the description of his brief stay in Casablanca and then Port-au-Prince. Winding up in Ontario and becoming a professor and later Chair of the CRTC is an amazing turn of events, when you consider where he's come from! John is responsible for Canadian content legislation, and more than one anecdote about politicians and political mavericks from his years of researching elections and voting behaviour. He's had a very interesting life, and this book is so very much a continuation of that. It's definitely a good read!