Description

Whether it was organizing Canada's first G-7 Summit or concluding the Free Trade agreement, Derek Burney fused politics, public policy, and diplomacy into a fine art. His tenure as chief of staff to Brian Mulroney is often cited as a model of how the Prime Minister's Office should work. As Canada's ambassador to the United States from 1989-1993 he had an insider's perspective of ways in which Canada manages, and sometimes mismanages, its relationship with the world's superpower. His career in Canada's foreign service spanned three decades, with assignments in Japan and Korea, and he served in Ottawa as deputy minister..

In a candid memoir, Burney paints a vivid picture of leading politicians, including Pierre Trudeau using an off-colour joke to break the ice with Ronald Reagan, Colin Powell becoming upset over Canadian concerns about collateral damage in the first Gulf War, and George Bush Sr chafing at the excessive European flavour of G-7 summits.