Waiting for the Wave: The Reform Party and the Conservative Movement

by Thomas Flanagan

In Waiting for the Wave, Tom Flanagan studies the rapid rise of the Reform Party and presents some fascinating insights into the party and its leaders. He corrects two popular misconceptions about Preston that his political philosophy is directly derived from his religious convictions, and that he is an extreme right-wing conservative. Flanagan examines Manning's strategy of populism (listening to "the common sense of the common people") and illustrates how he used this strategy to "catch waves" of popular discontent to boost support for his party. Having held various positions within the party, Flanagan is able to portray its inner workings, revealing some of the personal ideologies of party members and showing how these conflicted with Manning's strategy of populism.

Genres: Politics

272 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Thomas Flanagan (November 5, 1923 – March 21, 2002) was an American professor of English literature who specialized in Irish literature. He was also a successful novelist. Flanagan, who was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, graduated from Amherst College in 1945. He was a tenured full - Professor in the English Department at the University of California, Berkeley until his retirement. Flanagan died in 2002, at the age of 78, in Berkeley.

He won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1979. The Archives and Special Collections at Amherst College holds his papers.

Reviews

[Ty Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very detailed account of how the Reform Party operated in the first couple years of the party's existence. This book is both the story of the party and the leader, which the author justifies with his belief that Manning was a domineering figure in the party. This is a great perspective to add to my understanding of the Charlottetown Accord referendum campaign and of the election of 1993. Reforms strategies and ideological leanings are the main subject of the book, which I find very interesting. It is fun reading about Stephen Harper as simply a policy advisor to Preston Manning and then as a newly elected rookie MP. It is very interesting to see things exclusively from the perspective of Manning's campaign, as the author very much places the Liberal, PC and NDP campaigns in the background and does not address them. My one gripe with this book is that it is presented as a tell-all type political book by a Reform insider, but Flanagan uses his insider status to present the facts in a very academic way. He seems to be conducting political science research about the ideological bend of the party. Flanagan seems so intelligent, moderate and reasonable, it is hard to believe he was a Reformer. This book opened my mind a bit, as all other books I've read have simply presented Reform as a party of bigots and dumb radicals. Very interesting read!

[Stanley Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

detailed recount of the reform wave by the political strategists.