Mike’s World: Lester B. Pearson and Canadian External Affairs by Asa McKercher and Galen Roger Perras, eds.
| Date | 01 September 2018 |
| Author | Thomas S Axworthy |
| Published date | 01 September 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702018794195 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
Book Reviews
Asa McKercher and Galen Roger Perras, eds.
Mike’s World: Lester B. Pearson and Canadian External Affairs
Vancouver: UBC Press, 2017. 364 pp.
ISBN 978-0-7748-3528-2
Reviewed by: Thomas S Axworthy (thomasaxworthy@gmail.com), Public Policy,
Massey College, University of Toronto, Canada
The year 2017 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Peace
Prize to Lester Pearson, the zenith of his career; 2018 marks the sixtieth anniversary of
his defeat by John G Diefenbaker by one of the most lopsided margins in Canadian
electoral history—certainly the nadir of Mr. Pearson’s career. Mike’s World,acollec-
tion of seventeen insightful essays edited by historians Asa McKercher and Galen
Roger Perras, throws light on both how the diplomatic summit was reached, and why
the critical political fall ensued (only for Mr Pearson to rise to new heights, becoming
Canada’s fourteenth prime minister in 1963).
Essay collections often suffer from the lack of a central theme or such a diversity
of views on the subject that the overall shape of the forest is unclear because of the
plethora of trees. This is definitely not the case with Mike’s World: in fact, the essay
format, where the authors are able to drill down deeply into many specific areas,
helps illustrate many elements of Mr Pearson’s career which are likely unknown to
even the most expert reader.
John English, the acclaimed biographer of Pearson, sets the tone in his
foreword, writing that ‘‘there is something maddening about Mike Pearson’’ as ‘‘the
multitudes within the deceptively complex Pearson were increasingly an inconsistent
blend, one that responded to and reflected the tragic and brilliant century in which he
lived’’ (xi). Pearson was both an idealist in striving for a better world governed by
multilateral international norms and the rule of law, but also a realis t in realizing how
difficult it was to get the international system to change. Barbara Ward, the noted
economist, observed her friend Pearson’s ‘‘principles made him an idealist, his sensi-
tivity a realist’’ (18), and every essay in the collection explores the tensions between
these two dimensions of Pearson’s approach to foreign policy. Robert Bothwell, for
example, explicitly compares Pearson the man with ‘‘Pearsonianism,’’ the collection of
ideas about traditional liberal internationalism, multilateralism, and peace in which
Pearson has become the personification of the ‘‘idea’’ or ‘‘myth’’ (27).
Using this idealist/realist framework, several authors find Pearson wanting
because his actions, or lack of them, did little to promote liberal internationalism.
International Journal
2018, Vol. 73(3) 484–496
!The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702018794195
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