Book Review: Socialist Yugoslavia and the Non-Aligned Movement: Social, Cultural, Political, and Economic Imaginaries
| Published date | 01 September 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00207020231198058 |
| Author | Gloria Novović |
| Date | 01 September 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
Minister’sOffice, is a marvellous assessment of the Sturm and Drang involved in any
initiative when cautionary flags are raised at both the political and bureaucratic levels.
Second, Ryan Touhey’s piece on former practitioner John Hadwen, “A Journey
Without Maps: John Hadwen in India 1979–83,”assesses the policy impact of a
foreign service officer who through an illustrious career became high commissioner
to India at a time when improved relations with the world’s largest democracy mattered
and access to the top was key. Hadwen recognized the importance of commercial rela-
tions, the need to get beyond India’s weaponization of Canadian nuclear technology
for its own ends, and used his impressive access to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to
great effect, even when Ottawa seemed to drop the ball.
Yet in this volume,P.E. Bryden and P. Whitney Lackenbauerbring out the humanity
that can both characterize and take biography to a new, expanded level of which John
English would be proud. In their respective contributions on “Scandal and the
Decentring of Canadian Biography: The Case of Gerda Munsinger”and “Competing
Biographies: How James Gladstone became Canada’s First Indigenous Senator,”both
tell complex and interesting stories of theirprotagonists. Bryden sets out the compelling
story of an immigrant who found herself in the centre of an early 1960s political sex
scandal that in the end had no great national security implications but served to titillate
the ruling class in Ottawa and those paying attention across the country. It simply and
compellingly offersbiography as a window into an ordinary life. Lackenbauer describes
a story dear to me as I pass by James Gladstone’s bust every day as I enter the Senate.
His analysis of how Gladstone came to be chosen over other leading indigenous person-
alities by PrimeMinister John Diefenbaker is a story of nobleintentions, the difficulty of
a selection process,regional politics, testing the publicpulse, and dignity for Indigenous
peoples. It is a fascinating read.
In his conclusion, John Milloy refers to biography as being “relatable, respectful,
realistic, and relevant.”The authors of the essays in this interesting and very readable
volume achieve this. They readily demonstrate that modern Canadian biography can
easily follow these guidelines and can move into newer analytical paradigms. In
many ways, John English has blazed a trail for others to follow, encouraging their
own passion for reason in the treatment of their subjects.
Paul Stubbs, ed.
Socialist Yugoslaviaand the Non-Aligned Movement: Social, Cultural, Political, and EconomicImaginaries.
Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queens University Press, 2023, 408 pp. $120.00 (cloth).
ISBN: 978-0-22-801465-2
Reviewed by: Gloria Novović(gnovovic@uottawa.ca), School of International Development
and Global Studies, University of Ottawa, 120 University Private, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N
6N5, Canada
DOI: 10.1177/00207020231198058
Book Reviews 483
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