Trudeaumania
-
- $39.99
-
- $39.99
Publisher Description
In 1968, Canadians dared to take a chance on a new kind of politician. Pierre Trudeau, a relative newcomer to federal politics, became the leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister that April. Within two months, he led the Liberals to victory in a snap election. His meteoric rise to power was driven by Trudeaumania, an explosive mix of passion and fear fueled by media hype and nationalist ambition. Exhilarated crowds greeted his appearances across the country. He became a sex symbol whose image was burnished by the star-making machinery of posters, fashion, and hit songs.
This book is the definitive account of Trudeaumania. Combining a lively narrative with images reflecting the rich visual culture of the times, Paul Litt’s carefully considered cultural history traces what happened when the fabled spirit of the sixties – human rights, ban-the-bomb, Vietnam, sex ‘n’ drugs ‘n’ rock ‘n’ roll, psychedelia, the counterculture – met the excitement of the Centennial and Expo 67. Canadians wanted to modernize their nation, differentiate it from the United States, and thwart the threat of Quebec separatism. Within this charged setting, Trudeau was seen as a transformative figure who would rejuvenate the nation in keeping with the idealistic hopes of the times.
Litt’s evocative account of the times shows that the mania that swept Canada fifty years ago was not just a sixties crazy moment. It was a passionate quest for a new Canada that would define the values of Canadians for decades to come.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Like Beatlemania, Pierre Trudeau's lightning-fast ascension to the office of Canada's prime minister marked a confluence of technology, 1960s youth culture, and a yearning to create alternatives to what seemed like stuffy old orthodoxies. Litt's accessible, detailed history explores how the wave of Canadian centennial nationalism magnified by the Expo67 Fair as well as the country's rapidly changing cultural, social, and political currents sowed the seedbed from which emerged a hipster leader who, though age 49, was portrayed as the symbol of a new generation, a man whose sandal-wearing, yoga-practicing, devil-may-care mien appeared in sync with the times. Litt rejects hagiography and baby boomer nostalgia, preferring an objective evaluation of the era. He includes anecdotes, photos, and editorial cartoons that provide a warts-and-all feel for the time. Acknowledging that Trudeau was often more style than substance, Litt makes extensive use of Marshall McLuhan's guidebook to the rapidly evolving television age, noting its importance in election campaigns, while also plumbing the casually accepted sexism that played into the media's fascination with Trudeau's prolific dating choices. By showing that Trudeau's first election was not the overwhelming mandate that those still under the Trudeaumania spell might recall, Litt provides a solid antidote to rose-colored views of Canada's '60s and one of its most iconic leaders.
