The Hill Times’ 100 Best Political, History, Public Policy Books in 2018

A Conviction in Question: The First Trial at the International Criminal Court, by Jim Freedman, University of Toronto Press, 208 pp., $32.95.

All Our Relations: Finding The Path Forward, by Tanya Talaga, House of Anansi Press, 320 pp., $19.95.

All Things Consoled: A Daughter’s Memoir, by Elizabeth Hay, McClelland & Stewart, 272 pp., $32.

Antigone Undone: Juliette Binoche, Anne Carson, Ivo Van Hove and the Art of Resistance, by Will Aitken, University of Regina Press, 240 pp., $24.95.

 A Quiet Evolution: The Emergence of Indigenous-Local Intergovernmental Partnerships in Canada, by Christopher Alcantara and Jen Nelles, University of Toronto Press, 180 pp., $25.95.

A Civil Society? Collective Actors in Canadian Political Life, Second Edition, by Miriam Smith, University of Toronto Press, 240 pp., $32.95.

Assisted Reproduction Policy in Canada: Framing, Federalism, and Failure, by Dave Snow, University of Toronto Press, 185 pp., $25.95.

At The Centre of Government: The Prime Minister and the Limits and Political Power, by Ian Brodie, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 198 pp., $34.95.

Beardmore: The Viking Hoax That Rewrote History, by Douglas Hunter, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 475 pp., $34.95. 

Being Prime Minister, by J.D.M. Stewart, Dundurn, 338 pp., $26.99.

Being Ts’elxwéyeqw: First Peoples’ Voices and History from the Chilliwack-Fraser Valley, British Columbia, edited by David M. Schaepe, Harbour Publishing, 304 pp., $94.95.

Boys: What It Means to Become a Man, by Rachel Giese, Patrick Crean Editions, 272 pp., $32.99.

Breaching the Peace: The Site C Dam and a Valley’s Stand Against Big Hydro, by Sarah Cox, foreword by Alex Neve, UBC Press, On Point Press, 312 pp., $24.95.

Breaking News? Politics, Journalism, and Infotainment on Quebec Television, by Frédérick Bastien, translated by Kathe Roth, UBC Press, 236 pp., $29.95.

Celebrating Canada, Volume 2: Commemorations, Anniversaries and National Symbols, edited by Raymond B. Blake and Matthew Hayday, University of Toronto Press, 408 pp., $39.95.

Challenging Theocracy: Ancient Lessons for Global Politics, edited by David Edward Tabachnick, Toivo Koivukoski, and Herminio Meireles Teixeira, University of Toronto Press, 352 pp., $37.95.

Cold Rush: The Astonishing True Story of the New Quest for the Polar North, by Martin Breum, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 224 pp., $34.95.

Contemporary Inequalities and Social Justice in Canada, edited by Janine Brodie, University of Toronto Press, 210 pp., $32.95.

Costly Fix: Power, Politics, and Nature in the Tar Sands, by Ian Urquhart, University of Toronto Press, 336 pp., $39.95.

Dam Busters: Canadian Airmen and the Secret Raid Against Nazi Germany, by Ted Barris, Patrick Crean Editions, 472 pp., $34.99.

Detained: Islamic Fundamentalist Extremism and the War on Terror in Canada, by Daniel Livermore, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 360 pp., $34.95.

Dirty Hands and Vicious Deeds: The U.S. Government’s Complicity in Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide, edited by Samuel Totten, University of Toronto Press, 464 pp., $44.95.

Displacing Blackness: Power, Planning, and Race in Twentieth-Century Halifax, by Ted Rutland, University of Toronto Press, 400 pp., $39.95.

Dominion Race: Rethinking Canada’s International History, edited by Laura Madakoro, Francine McKenzie and David Meren, UBC Press, 332 pp., $34.95.

Edging Forward: Achieving Sustainable Community Development, by Ann Dale, Fernweh Press, 154 pp., $29.95.

European Union Governance and Policy Making: A Canadian Perspective, edited by Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, Achim Hurrelmann, and Amy Verdun, University of Toronto Press, 544 pp., $49.95.

Excessive Force: Toronto’s Fight to Reform City Policing, by Alok Mukherjee with Tim Harper, Douglas & McIntyre, 296 pp., $22.95.

Federalism and Decentralization in Health Care: A Decision-Space Approach, edited by Gregory P. Marchildon and Thomas J. Bossert, University of Toronto Press, 272 pp., $29.95.

Federalism in Action: The Devolution of Canada’s Public Employment Service, 1995-2015, by Donna E. Wood, University of Toronto Press, 416 pp., $90.

Fighting for Space: How a Group of Drug Users Transformed One City’s Struggle with Addiction, by Travis Lupick, Arsenal Pulp Press, 408 pp., $24.95.

Globalizing Confederation: Canada and the World in 1867, edited by Jacqueline D. Krikorian, Marcel Martel, Adrian Shubert, University of Toronto Press, 240 pp., $24.95.

Government Digital: The Quest to Regain Public Trust, by Alex Benay, Dundurn, 218 pp., $22.99.

Heart Berries: A Memoir, by Terese Marie Mailhot, Doubleday Canada, $19.95.

Homes: A Refugee Story, by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah told by Winnie Yeung, Freehand Books, 220 pp., $19.95.

In Praise of Blood: The Crimes of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, Judi Rever, Random House Canada, 277 pp., $32.

Inside Politics, by L. Ian MacDonald, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 357 pp., $39.95.

John A. Macdonald: The Young Politician and the Old Chieftain, by Donald Creighton, University of Toronto Press, 1,208 pp., $60.

Ladies, Upstairs!: My Life in Politics and After, by Monique Bégin, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 492 pp., $34.95.

Land of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road, by Kate Harris, HarperCollins, $24.99.

Lived Fictions: Unity and Exclusion in Canadian Politics, by John Grant, UBC Press, 304 pp., $34.95.

Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age, by Darrel J. McLeod, Douglas & McIntyre, 240 pp., $29.95.

Mediocracy: The Politics of the Extreme Centre, by Alain Deneault, translated by Catherine Browne, Between the Lines, 190 pp., $22.95.

Meltdown: Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It, by Chris Clearfield and Andras Tilcskik, Allen Lane Canada, Penguin Press, 304 pp., $28.

Mike’s World: Lester B. Pearson and Canadian External Affairs, edited by Asa McKercher and Galden Roger Perras, UBC Press, 380 pp., $34.95.

Monarchists vs. Republicans and the Crown of Canada, by David Johnson, Dundurn, 288 pp., $26.99.

Motherhood: The Mother of All Sexism, by Marilyse Hamelin, translated by Ariele Aaronson, Baraka Books, 176 pp., $16.95.

My Stories, My Time, by Jean Chrétien, translated by Donald Winkler and Sheila Fischman, Penguin Random House Canada, 228 pp., $34.95.

Ms. Prime Minister: Gender, Media, and Leadership, by Linda Trimble, University of Toronto Press, 320 pp., $34.95.

100 Questions About Women and Politics, by Manon Tremblay, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 287 pp., $27.95.

Operation Medusa: The Furious Battle That Saved Afghanistan from the Taliban, by David Fraser and Brian Hanington, Penguin Random House, 246 pp., $32.

Our Canada Our Country Our Stories: Inspirational Tales from the Heart and Soul of this Great Land, by Our Canada Magazine a Division of Reader’s Digest, Reader’s Digest, 320 pp., $19.99.

Pay No Heed to the Rockets: Palestine in the Present Tense, by Marcello Di Cintio, Goose Lane Editions, 268 pp., $22.95.

Permanent Campaigning in Canada, edited by Alex Marland, Thierry Giasson, and Anna Lennox Esselment, UBC Press, 384 pp., $34.95.

Pipe Dreams: The Fight For Canada’s Energy Future, by Jacques Poitras, Viking, 322 pp., $34.

Political Economy and the Modern State, by Harold A. Innis, edited by Robert E. Babe and Edward A. Comor, University of Toronto Press, 400 pp., $95.

Political Elites in Canada: Power and Influence in Instantaneous Times, edited by Alex Marland, Thierry Giasson and Andrea Lawlor, UBC Press, 340 pp., $34.95.

Power, Politics, and Principles: Mackenzie King and Labour, 1935-1948, by Taylor Hollander, University of Toronto Press, 384 pp., $36.95.

Power, Prime Ministers and the Press: The Battle for Truth on Parliament Hill, by Robert Lewis, Dundurn, 375 pp., $24.

Prime Ministerial Power in Canada: Its Origins under Macdonald, Laurier, and Borden, by Patrice Dutil, UBC Press, 412 pp., $34.95.

Protecting Multiculturalism: Muslims, Security, and Integration in Canada, by John S. McCoy, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 283 pp., $32.95.

Public Security in Federal Politics, edited by Christian Leuprecht, Mario Kölling, and Todd Hataley, University of Toronto Press, 288 pp., $75.

Putting Trials on Trial: Sexual Assault and the Failure of the Legal Profession, by Elaine Craig, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 328 pp., $34.95.

Reassessing the Rogue Tory: Canadian Foreign Relations in the Diefenbaker Era, edited by Janice Cavell and Ryan M. Touhey, UBC Press, 316 pp., $32.95.

Religion and Canadian Party Politics, by David Rayside, Jerald Sabin, and Paul. E.J. Thomas, UBC Press, 448 pp., $34.95.

Report on Social Security, by Leonard Marsh, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 286 pp., $110.

Representation in Action: Canadian MPs in the Constituencies, by Royce Koop, Heather Bastedo, and Kelly Blidook, UBC Press, 248 pp., $32.95.

Rick Mercer Final Report, by Rick Mercer, Doubleday Canada, $32.

Right Here, Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption, by Stephen Harper, Signal/McClelland & Stewart, 240 pp., $32.95.

Seeing Red: HIV/AIDS and Public Policy in Canada, edited by Suzanne Hindmarch, Michael Orsini, and Marilou Gagnon, University of Toronto Press, 352 pp., $36.95.

Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens, Fourth Edition: A History of Native-newcomer Relations in Canada, by J.R. Miller, University of Toronto Press, 576 pp., $49.95.

Small Cities, Big Issues: Reconceiving Community in a Neoliberal Era, edited by Christopher Walmsley and Terry Kading, Athabasca University Press, 364 pp., $37.95.

Son of a Critch: A Childish Newfoundland Memoir, by Mark Critch, Penguin Random House Canada, $32.95.

Symbols of Canada, edited by Michael Dawson, Catherine Gidney, and Donald Wright, Between the Lines, 249 pp., $37.95.

Take the Torch: A Political Memoir, by Ian Waddell, Nightwood Editions, 256 pp., $22.95.

The Age of Increasing Inequality: The Astonishing Rise of Canada’s 1%, by Lars Osberg, Lorimer, 248 pp., $29.95.

The Boy on the Beach: My Family’s Escape from Syria and Our Hope for a New Home, by Tima Kurdi, Simon & Schuster Canada, 272 pp., $32.

The Canadian Kingdom: 150 Years of Constitutional Monarchy, edited by D. Michael Jackson, Dundurn, 242 pp., $25.

The Canadian Subjugation of Canadian Wildlife: Failures of Principle and Policy, by Max Foran, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 424 pp., $39.95.

The Effective Citizen: How To Make Politicians Work For You, by Graham Steele, Nimbus, 264 pp., $29.95.

The Lamb and The Tiger: From Peacekeepers to Peacewarriors in Canada, by Stanley R. Barrett, University of Toronto Press, 186 pp., $24.95.

The Making of the October Crisis: Canada’s Long Nightmare of Terrorism at the Hands of the FLQ, by D’Arcy Jenish, Doubleday Canada, 360 pp., $35.

The Politics of War: Canada’s Afghanistan Mission, 2001-14, by Jean-Christophe Boucher and Kim Richard Nossal, UBC Press, 300 pp., $34.95.

The Price of Alliance: The Politics and Procurement of Leopard Tanks for Canada’s NATO Brigade, by Frank Maas, UBC Press, 188 pp., $32.95.

The Rise and Fall of Moral Conflicts in the United States and Canada, by Mildred A. Schwartz and Raymond Tatalovich, University of Toronto Press, 240 pp., $29.95.

The Secret History of Soldiers: How Canadians Survived the Great War, by Tim Cook, Allen Lane, 472 pp., $35.

The Woo-Woo: How I Survived Ice Hockey, Drug Raids, Demons, and My Crazy Chinese Family, Lindsay Wong, Arsenal Pulp Press, 304 pp., $19.95.

Toward A Better World: Memoirs of a Life in International and Development Economics, by Gerry Helleiner, University of Toronto Press, 304 pp., $70.

Toward Equity and Inclusion in Canadian Cities: Lessons from Critical Praxis-Oriented Research, edited by Fran Klodoawsky, Janet Siltanen, and Caroline Andrew, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 354 pp., $37.95.

Tracing Ochre: Changing Perspectives on the Beothuk, edited by Fiona Polack, University of Toronto Press, 368 pp., $36.95.

Trust, Distrust, Mistrust in Multinational Democracies: Comparative Perspectives, edited by Dimitrios Karmis and François Rocher, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 384 pp., $34.95.

Trust: Twenty Ways to Build a Better Country, by David Johnston, Signal McClelland & Stewart, 218 pp., $29.95.

Turbulent Empires: A History of Global Capitalism since 1945, by Mike Mason, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 368 pp., $34.95.

21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation With Indigenous Peoples a Reality, by Bob Joseph, Raincoast Books, 160 pp., $19.95.

Uneasy Partnership: The Politics of Business and Government in Canada (Second Edition), by Geoffrey Hale, University of Toronto Press, 433 pp., $54.95.

University Commons Divided: Exploring Debate & Dissent on Campus, by Peter MacKinnon, University of Toronto Press, 168 pp., $24.95.

Westray: My Journey from Darkness to Light, by Vernon Theriault as told to Marjorie Coady, Nimbus, 162 pp., $18.95.

Why Control Immigration? Strategic Uses of Migration Management in Russia, by Caress Schenk, University of Toronto Press, 304 pp., $85.

Why Indigenous Literatures Matter, by Daniel Heath Justice, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 260 pp., $19.99.

Why Young Men: Rage, Race, and the Crisis of Identity, by Jamil Jivani, HarperCollins, 272 pp., $32.99.—Compiled by Kate Malloy, editor of The Hill Times, and based partly on bestseller lists for non-fiction Canadian books in 2018, book reviews, The Writers’ Trust, The Donner Prize, and BookNet Canada. The listed is ordered, alphabetically. 

The Hill Times

NDP taking ‘nothing for granted’ in Burnaby South as top Hill staffers, B.C. MPs working to get Singh elected

The federal NDP may be having fundraising woes, but the Burnaby South riding association was the party’s best fundraiser overall in Canada in 2017.

‘We’re going to be every bit as active in this federal election’: Dias says unions undeterred by new pre-election ad spending limits 

The government’s elections bill brought in new restraints on third-party advertising before elections, but there's still plenty of room for unions and other big spenders to advertise before the next federal vote.

‘Not a chance’ Liberals will sweep Atlantic region again in October, say political insiders

The Liberals could lose between ‘six to 11 seats’ of the 32 in the four Atlantic provinces: Prof. Donald Savoie.

Trudeau passes on attempting a do-over on tricky files in cabinet shuffle

Shuffles also come with the risk of airing the cabinet’s dirty laundry before the public.

Chiefs of staff shuffle follows federal cabinet change-ups

For one, newly named Veterans Affairs Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has brought over her chief of staff from justice, Jessica Prince.

Grit caucus lobbied Trudeau for new rural ministerial post, Liberal MP Casey says

In an election-style speech, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau steered clear of comments anticipating a nasty electoral showdown, saying he would 'offer that hopeful vision of Canada' in the face of political turmoil around the world over economic anxieties.

Former Liberal candidate accuses Trudeau and Liberal Party of rigging nomination contest in Milton, Ont.

Businessman Azim Rizvee says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party preferred to have Olympic champion Adam van Koeverden as their candidate, and forced him to withdraw from the nomination contest.

‘Unjust’ reporting on China not ‘conducive’ to development of Canada-China relationship, says Chinese ambassador in rare press conference

Lu Shaye says Justin Trudeau's lobbying for international support will only 'serve to escalate' the Canada-China spat.

Ambassador to China to brief MPs on detained Canadians in closed-door meeting

MPs rebuffed NDP and Conservative request that a portion of John McCallum’s address be public, arguing ‘the lives of Canadians are at stake.’