A Canadian’s influence on the way we saw world affairs from 1936 to 1960 – subject of a talk at the library.

By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON  June 5, 2013. There was a man named Beverly Baxter.  Those of you who recognize the name will know your Canadian history well.

Baxter wrote a column in Macleans magazine from London and gave us a perspective on foreign affairs that wasn’t available anywhere else.

Baxter wrote during and after the Second World War and brought Canada essential reportage, trenchant opinion and vivid portraits of his associates, prominent among them Winston Churchill, Lord Beaverbrook and Anthony Eden.

Baxter was born in Canada, served in WW I and stayed in the UK where he worked as a writer and then as an editor of a number of very influential newspapers.  He left the newspaper business and ran for public office and served in the British house of Commons for more than many years.  He is said to have won his seat in the 1959 British election without ever giving a speech.

A view of the way Canada outgrew its Imperial Heritage.

Neville Thompson, distinguished author and venerated scholar of modern British history, wrote a fascinating chronicle of a statesman and columnist at the heart of global political process through three decades, highly influential and closely read by Canadians everywhere.

Thomson will be at the Burlington Public Library along with the fine folks from A Different Drummer Books, partnering to bring you a significant literary event.

Baxter’s reporting and commentary gave Canadians the information they needed to form their own opinions at a time when most of our information came from the United States or Great Britain. It was Baxter who gave us those foundational tools to develop our own viewpoints.

Examining the stirring columns that appeared weekly in Maclean’s for nearly twenty-five years, Dr. Thompson charts the times, the events, the careers of the leaders and Baxter’s impact upon them in a vivid, discerning and compelling account.

Canadian thought and opinion was shaped by Baxter in a way that isn’t fully appreciated.

Thomson, in his, Canada and the End of the Imperial Dream: Beverley Baxter’s Reports from London through War and Peace, 1936-1960, should prove to be a very entertaining speaker.

Tickets are $10, available at the bookstore and at the third floor Information Desk at the Library.  To reserve seats please contact us at (905) 639 0925 or diffdrum@mac.com.gaging Ideas  Monday,  June 17  7pm

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