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Cold Fire: Kennedy's Northern Front
Forget all you think you know about the Kennedy years. With narrative flair and sparkling storytelling, acclaimed historian John Boyko explores the crucial period when America and its allies were fighting the Cold War's most treacherous battles, Canadians were trading sovereignty for security, and everyone feared a nuclear holocaust.
At the centre of this story are three leaders. President John F. Kennedy pledged to pay any price to advance his vision for America's defence and needed Canada to step smartly in line. Fighting him at every turn was Conservative prime minister John Diefenbaker, an unapologetic nationalist trying to bolster Canada's autonomy. Liberal leader Lester Pearson, the Nobel Prize-winning diplomat, sought a middle ground.
Boyko employs meticulous research and newly released documents to present shocking revelations. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Canadian warships guarded America's Atlantic coast and Canada suffered a silent coup d'état. Canada was involved in Kennedy's sliding America into Vietnam. Kennedy knew the nuclear missiles he was forcing on Canada would be decoys, there only to draw Soviet nuclear fire. Kennedy's pollster and political adviser travelled to Ottawa under a fake passport to help defeat the Canadian government. And, perhaps most startlingly, if not for Diefenbaker, Kennedy may have survived the bullets in Dallas.
From the Hardcover edition.
At the centre of this story are three leaders. President John F. Kennedy pledged to pay any price to advance his vision for America's defence and needed Canada to step smartly in line. Fighting him at every turn was Conservative prime minister John Diefenbaker, an unapologetic nationalist trying to bolster Canada's autonomy. Liberal leader Lester Pearson, the Nobel Prize-winning diplomat, sought a middle ground.
Boyko employs meticulous research and newly released documents to present shocking revelations. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Canadian warships guarded America's Atlantic coast and Canada suffered a silent coup d'état. Canada was involved in Kennedy's sliding America into Vietnam. Kennedy knew the nuclear missiles he was forcing on Canada would be decoys, there only to draw Soviet nuclear fire. Kennedy's pollster and political adviser travelled to Ottawa under a fake passport to help defeat the Canadian government. And, perhaps most startlingly, if not for Diefenbaker, Kennedy may have survived the bullets in Dallas.
From the Hardcover edition.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 2, 2016
2 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
John Boyko
11 books23 followersMy 8th book, The Devil's Trick: How Canada Fought the Vietnam War, will be published by Knopf Penguin Random House in Canada and the US on April 13, 2021. It explores the largely unknown ways in which Canada was involved in the war and changed by it.
Sir John's Echo: The Voice for a Stronger Canada, was released by Dundurn Press in 2017.
Cold Fire: Kennedy's Northern Front, was published by Knopf Penguin Random House in Canada and the US in 2016. It was short-listed for the Dafoe Prize for Non-Fiction.
Blood and Daring: How Canada Fought the American Civil War and Forged a Nation was published in 2013. It was a national bestseller and chosen as one of the Globe and Mail's Best Books of the year. It was shortlisted for a Governor General's award for its translation into French.
My other books include Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation, Into the Hurricane: Attacking CCF and Socialism in Canada, and Last Steps to Freedom: The Evolution of Canadian Racism.
I enjoy writing my Monday morning blog (johnboyko.com) and I also write op-eds for newspapers across Canada and entries for the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Sir John's Echo: The Voice for a Stronger Canada, was released by Dundurn Press in 2017.
Cold Fire: Kennedy's Northern Front, was published by Knopf Penguin Random House in Canada and the US in 2016. It was short-listed for the Dafoe Prize for Non-Fiction.
Blood and Daring: How Canada Fought the American Civil War and Forged a Nation was published in 2013. It was a national bestseller and chosen as one of the Globe and Mail's Best Books of the year. It was shortlisted for a Governor General's award for its translation into French.
My other books include Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation, Into the Hurricane: Attacking CCF and Socialism in Canada, and Last Steps to Freedom: The Evolution of Canadian Racism.
I enjoy writing my Monday morning blog (johnboyko.com) and I also write op-eds for newspapers across Canada and entries for the Canadian Encyclopedia.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 16, 2021
Yet another book where I learned more about the nastiness of national and international politics.
In the bolded text description of the book it indicates that JFK was not all he seemed to be behind his charm, smiles and good looks and this narrative certainly shows he had a mean streak when it came to dealing with Diefenbaker in so many ways and was very happy when Diefenbaker lost to Pearson, who JFK thought was a more kindred spirit. But then, later dealing with Pearson showed other wise.
I guess we can be no longer shocked at the back-stabbing, lies and misrepresentation of our (Canadian) politicians and all they would do to win an election. Some books I've recently read on Canadian leaders starting in the late 1870's with Sir John A. Macdonald and moving forward with Laurier, Borden and the two mentioned here & is still going on today just makes me shake my head.
Scattered in this book are names of journalists and other cabinet ministers in both prime ministers parties that I recognize from newspapers articles or TV programs. It just shows that no matter how much some of us dislike these types of stories, the names and issues of those involved are stuck in the backs of our minds.
Two movies came to mind in this book. The first being with the mention of DEFCON levels made me think of "War Games", the second when how close the nuclear weapons would be to the states and bomb shelters being built was "The Hunt for Red October" and the discussion between Alec Baldwin's and Jeffrey Jones's characters and how close the missiles could get to the states and launch before anyone knew what was going on.
Recommend for those how are truly interested in politics.
In the bolded text description of the book it indicates that JFK was not all he seemed to be behind his charm, smiles and good looks and this narrative certainly shows he had a mean streak when it came to dealing with Diefenbaker in so many ways and was very happy when Diefenbaker lost to Pearson, who JFK thought was a more kindred spirit. But then, later dealing with Pearson showed other wise.
I guess we can be no longer shocked at the back-stabbing, lies and misrepresentation of our (Canadian) politicians and all they would do to win an election. Some books I've recently read on Canadian leaders starting in the late 1870's with Sir John A. Macdonald and moving forward with Laurier, Borden and the two mentioned here & is still going on today just makes me shake my head.
Scattered in this book are names of journalists and other cabinet ministers in both prime ministers parties that I recognize from newspapers articles or TV programs. It just shows that no matter how much some of us dislike these types of stories, the names and issues of those involved are stuck in the backs of our minds.
Two movies came to mind in this book. The first being with the mention of DEFCON levels made me think of "War Games", the second when how close the nuclear weapons would be to the states and bomb shelters being built was "The Hunt for Red October" and the discussion between Alec Baldwin's and Jeffrey Jones's characters and how close the missiles could get to the states and launch before anyone knew what was going on.
Recommend for those how are truly interested in politics.
May 7, 2021
Diefenbaker, Pearson, and Kennedy. This is an interesting recounting of the rise and fall of Diefenbaker, and the early days of Pearson's time as prime minister. Both had major differences with Kennedy, but Diefenbaker more so. Boyko seems to favour Diefenbaker, despite his often off-the-cuff, disjointed decisions and speechifying. If nothing else, though Dief was a strong Canadian nationalist.
One chapter that intrigued me personally is the one that Boyko labels a "coup d'état" by his defence minister, Harkness. It wasn't a coup d'état, it was gross insubordination, however. During the Cuban missile crisis, the US went from Defcon 5 to 3, the highest peace-time readiness, and wanted Canada to also do so. Dief said No, but Harkness did it anyway. and that had Canadian warships and aircraft sent to sea and air. Canadian planes patrolled the Canadian and US coasts and as far as Gibraltar, Azores, and Iceland. My father was the pilot of one of the P2V-7 Neptunes out of RCAF Summerside (Argus' also flew from there). He spotted a periscope somewhere, and was sent to the Pentagon to be debriefed about it. The Cuban missile crisis was a very scary time, as we lived on the base at Summerside, and expected to get nuked at any moment. I was 9 at the time.
One chapter that intrigued me personally is the one that Boyko labels a "coup d'état" by his defence minister, Harkness. It wasn't a coup d'état, it was gross insubordination, however. During the Cuban missile crisis, the US went from Defcon 5 to 3, the highest peace-time readiness, and wanted Canada to also do so. Dief said No, but Harkness did it anyway. and that had Canadian warships and aircraft sent to sea and air. Canadian planes patrolled the Canadian and US coasts and as far as Gibraltar, Azores, and Iceland. My father was the pilot of one of the P2V-7 Neptunes out of RCAF Summerside (Argus' also flew from there). He spotted a periscope somewhere, and was sent to the Pentagon to be debriefed about it. The Cuban missile crisis was a very scary time, as we lived on the base at Summerside, and expected to get nuked at any moment. I was 9 at the time.
November 19, 2016
An OK read. Nothing really new, but a lot of facts put together maybe for the first time. Diefenbaker appears to be a bit erratic and certainly stubborn. Kennedy is more than a bit duplicitous in his dealings with Diefenbaker. Pearson and Kennedy certainly got along but also had differences while Kennedy and Diefenbaker were from two different worlds. Pearson and Kennedy could forgive and work out the differences. Diefenbaker and Kennedy simply couldn't. Johnson who was more like Diefenbaker had troubles with Pearson. Boyko appears to be a little more forgiving of Diefenbaker than Kennedy.
June 2, 2018
During the Cold War that followed World War II had a mutually dependent relationship that was at times unfriendly. This work traces that relationship through the development of the political careers of John F. Kennedy and Canadians Lester Pearson and John Diefenbaker. The political values of each are discussed. This is a refreshing political read with realistic backgrounds on each man.
February 3, 2016
Review to come.
December 13, 2017
An examination of the less than ideal relationship between President John F. Kennedy and Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
August 13, 2022
John Boyko’s “Cold Fire” is another great Cold War period historical read. His style is accessible, presenting pivotal moments in Canadian-American relations through the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
I have never seen Prime Minister John Diefenbaker presented so positively, and have gained an appreciation for his vision of Canadian nationalism and his willingness to stand up to Kennedy. While his lone wolf actions did not endear him to his party in the end, he stuck with his vision through three elections.
As for Boyko’s presentation of Pearson, it is far less flattering than is the status quo and presented instead a picture of a prime minister willing to compromise his own ideals regarding the acceptance of nuclear weapons from the USA in order to appeal to popular opinion.
Both PMs made their best efforts to manage and develop relationships with a neighbour who was all too willing to consider Canada as a satellite state, not willing to observe or respect sovereignty in decision-making. John F. Kennedy is revealed through his decisions related to Canadian diplomacy and development and through his direct interactions with prime ministers to have been sly and manipulative.
My one major criticism with Boyko’s work is in his presentation of Diefenbaker standing on the right side of history in the South Africa-Commonwealth debate. With no mention of the ongoing situation of residential schools and systemic racism towards Indigenous peoples, a parallel to South Africa’s own Apartheid practices, such a recent historical work should have at least mentioned the paradox.
I have never seen Prime Minister John Diefenbaker presented so positively, and have gained an appreciation for his vision of Canadian nationalism and his willingness to stand up to Kennedy. While his lone wolf actions did not endear him to his party in the end, he stuck with his vision through three elections.
As for Boyko’s presentation of Pearson, it is far less flattering than is the status quo and presented instead a picture of a prime minister willing to compromise his own ideals regarding the acceptance of nuclear weapons from the USA in order to appeal to popular opinion.
Both PMs made their best efforts to manage and develop relationships with a neighbour who was all too willing to consider Canada as a satellite state, not willing to observe or respect sovereignty in decision-making. John F. Kennedy is revealed through his decisions related to Canadian diplomacy and development and through his direct interactions with prime ministers to have been sly and manipulative.
My one major criticism with Boyko’s work is in his presentation of Diefenbaker standing on the right side of history in the South Africa-Commonwealth debate. With no mention of the ongoing situation of residential schools and systemic racism towards Indigenous peoples, a parallel to South Africa’s own Apartheid practices, such a recent historical work should have at least mentioned the paradox.
August 30, 2017
Good history of the USA-Canada relationship during the early 1960s focused mainly on the contentious relationship between JFK and PM Diefenbaker.
The big revelation, which I either missed or was omitted from Knowlton Nash's Kennedy and Diefenbaker: The Feud that Helped Topple a Government was the remarkable decision ("coup d'état" as Royko categorizes it on page 185), by Canadian Defence Secretary Harkness to raise Canada's military awareness to DEFCON 3 following the Americans decision to do so during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Harkness's decision was contrary to PM Diefenbaker's directions, which were themselves contrary to the NORAD agreement.
The big revelation, which I either missed or was omitted from Knowlton Nash's Kennedy and Diefenbaker: The Feud that Helped Topple a Government was the remarkable decision ("coup d'état" as Royko categorizes it on page 185), by Canadian Defence Secretary Harkness to raise Canada's military awareness to DEFCON 3 following the Americans decision to do so during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Harkness's decision was contrary to PM Diefenbaker's directions, which were themselves contrary to the NORAD agreement.
August 30, 2020
A fascinating look at the socio-political relationship between Canada and the United States during the Cold War and particularly the machinations and interaction of the Kennedy administration in America with those of Diefenbaker and Pearson in Canada.
May 27, 2017
A very well written and eye opening account of Kennedy & U.S. relations with Canada during the Cold era.
July 15, 2017
It turns out that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone.
March 29, 2016
Full of information and insight.
October 28, 2016
Excellently written and informative account of this period of history, and the personalities of the leaders involved.
September 4, 2016
Entertaining read if there's nothing else to do.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews