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Memoirs and Reflections

Roy McMurtry author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:University of Toronto Press

Published:23rd Aug '13

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Memoirs and Reflections cover

"This book is a wonderful read. Roy McMurtry covers so many topics - law, politics, sport, race relations, the life of an ambassador - with clarity, brevity, candoUr, humour, and a knack for finding the right words." -- Peter H. Russell, University Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Toronto "This book is a reader's delight, brimming with insider anecdotes, uncompromising honesty, and a vivid sense of political and judicial history. It adds a reservoir of fact, opinion, and judgment to the chronicles of Ontario, Canada, and the world. From college football hero, to attorney general, to chief justice, to high commissioner, Roy McMurtry has led a remarkable life. Read and marvel!" -- Stephen Lewis, Former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations "Roy McMurtry took the justice system by the hand and led it fearlessly out of its indifference into a commitment to fairness. In just one generation. Remarkable!" -- Rosalie Abella, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada "A very valuable and highly readable account of an influential career in many aspects of public service, from politics to diplomacy to the judiciary." -- The Hon. William Davis, Premier of Ontario, 1971-1985

These memoirs cover all these facets of his remarkable career, as well as his law practice, his work on various commissions of inquiry, and his reflections on family, sport, and art.

From “the Kid” on the Varsity Blues football team to “the Chief” at Osgoode Hall, R. Roy McMurtry has had a remarkably varied and influential career. As reformist attorney general of Ontario, one of the architects of the agreement that brought about the patriation of the Canadian Constitution, high commissioner to the United Kingdom, and chief justice of Ontario, he made a large and enduring contribution to Canadian law, politics, and life.

These memoirs cover all these facets of his remarkable career, as well as his law practice, his work on various commissions of inquiry, and his reflections on family, sport, and art. This volume is both an account of his life in public service and a portrait of a humane, humorous, still optimistic, and always decent man.

“Here is a book that should be mandatory reading for every first year law student in Canada, as it is not only filled with a valuable history lesson about our legal profession but it also establishes some benchmarks that young lawyers might set for themselves as they launch their careers.”

-- Michael Cochrane * JUST Magazine *

Memoirs and Reflections is a reader’s delight… McMurtry’s style is strong, elegant, and balanced to match a public and private life that cannot fail to fascinate and impress.’

-- Jane Mattison Ekstram * British Journal of Canadian Studies vol 28:01:2015 *

“McMurtry’s book provides a Red Tory elegy for the civility and moderation that have been twin victims of these toxic and partisan times.”

-- Jim Coyle * Toronto Star *

“A poignant reminder of a lost era when conservatives were ‘Progressive’ and a heart-warming account of a man whom history will no doubt record left Canada a better place than he found it.”

-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

‘Memoirs and Reflections is a reader’s delight… McMurtry’s style is strong, elegant, and balanced to match a public and private life that cannot fail to fascinate and impress.’

-- Jane Mattison * Ekstam, British Journal of Canadian Studies, vol 28:01:2015 *

Memoirs, adds another dimension to a set of remarkable first-hand impressions of critical moments in Canadian history (including the patriation of the constitution), and a perspective on the idealism that made numerous achievements possible.’

-- Ryan Alford * Ontario History, Autumn 20

ISBN: 9781442648302

Dimensions: 236mm x 161mm x 42mm

Weight: 1190g

640 pages