The antagonist: Lucien Bouchard and the politics of delusion

by Lawrence Martin

"Based on countless interviews with friends, foes and family members..."

Genres: Politics, Biography

356 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. This is Lawrence^^Martin.

Reviews

[Joseph Gough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawrence Martin gives a highly readable description of Lucien Bouchard's career up to 1997. By that time he had become highly well-read in the classics, excelled as a lawyer and in politics, and nearly led Quebec out of Canada. At every turn - as student, lawyer, sovereignty supporter, Canada's ambassador to France, or Cabinet minister for Brian Mulroney - he amazed those around him by his ability to master a subject. He could give elegant and precise rationales for his point of view at any moment - but then he would change it for a new vision. Adrienne Clarkson called him "a man of successive sincerities." Martin catalogues Bouchard's many self-contradictions and reversals, and adds the analyses of many, including an eminent psychiatrist, who have tried to figure out this fascinating and, for Canada, sometimes dangerous man. Of all political biographies I have read and enjoyed in Canada, this comes second only to George Stanley's work on Louis Riel.

[rabbitprincess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a book report in Grade 12 Canadian History. The theme was a prominent figure in Canadian history and we had to explain why the person we chose was important. I figured Bouchard was important because he helped nearly tear the country apart!

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent pageturner of a political book.