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Savanna Chambers
JP Lewis
POLS 1201
5 February 2016

Review of Extraordinary Canadians: Lester B. Pearson by Andrew Cohen

The book under review is the biography of Canadian scholar, statesman, soldier, diplomat

and the 14th Prime Minister of Canada; Lester B. Pearson. Extraordinary Canadians: Lester B.

Pearson written by Andrew Cohen and edited by John Ralston Saul was first published in 2008

by the Penguin Group (Cohen, 2008). The objective of this biography is to give insight into the

life and career of one of the best known Canadians in the world (Cohen, 2008). The author

indulged in both the personal and professional life of Lester B. Pearson. Cohen outlines the early

years of Pearson’s life up until his death in 1972 (Cohen, 2008).

Before reading Extraordinary Canadians: Lester B. Pearson I had only limited knowledge

of who Pearson was; knowing only of his time as Prime Minister. I learned of Pearson’s early

accomplishments such as his talent in sports and school. I also learned of Pearson's experiences

as a WWI veteran. Pearson enlisted as a private in the Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1915 at

the age of 18; moving on to serving in the Balkans as a stretcher-bearer and finally a pilot in the

Royal Flying Corps. In 1918 Pearson was sent home after being hit by a bus; there he suffered

from a nervous breakdown and consequently was discharged from the army (Cohen, 2008). I

found it interesting that Pearson never called attention to his military service while in the

political limelight, preferring instead to criticize the war in retrospect by saying: "For what? King

and country? Freedom and democracy? These words sounded hollow now in 1918 and we

increasingly rebelled against their hypocrisy" (Cohen, 2008, p 22). I also learned of one of the

most significant achievements of Pearson which was the crisis of Suez. In 1956 Pearson brought
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the Suez Crisis to a peaceful end, with his proposal for an international peacekeeping force to

police the canal. The following year, Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize in for his efforts and

showing his humbleness he answered questions about the prize answering "Saving the world? I

was just doing my job" (Cohen, 2008, p. 126). Cohen also highlights how significant Pearson’s

years as Prime Minister was for the growth of Canada. Pearson was responsible for official

bilingualism, the Order of Canada, a new flag, the Canada Pension Plan, the Canada Assistance

Plan, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and last but not least, Medicare (Cohen, 2008).

Cohen wrote a brief commemorative study on the life and times of Lester “Mike”

Pearson which covers a good amount of his political record as a lead diplomat, politician, and

internationalist. Cohen was able to give great insight into Pearson’s personal life and career with

a fair amount of detail; while still remaining condensed. Cohen avoids getting caught up in

biographical trivia and instead addresses the key aspects that truly characterize the man and the

era in Canadian politics as well as world affairs which Pearson helped to accomplish. Cohen

incorporates many passages from Pearson’s own diary which helps readers to relate to him and

have a better understanding of who he was. Cohen’s writing also helped to dispel many myths

and to explain and enlighten the reader on Pearson’s stance and interaction with the other

political heavy weights during the events and crises during his time as Prime Minister.

Cohen’s writing jumped back and forth between eras in Pearson’s life; which could result

in a confusing narrative for a biography. Other than the passages taken from Pearson’s diary, it is

hard to get a sense of who “Mike” was as Cohen mainly wrote about his political career and

didn’t really elaborate much on his personal life or include passages that talked about his

personal life. The tone of the book and the lack of mention of his personal life made for a dull
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read for someone who is not overly interested in politics, had the author went for a different tone

the book could have been enjoyable for all.

Lester B. Pearson was arguably Canada's most accomplished Prime Minister. His

accomplishments include official bilingualism, the Order of Canada, a new flag, the Canada

Pension Plan, the Canada Assistance Plan, the Guaranteed Income Supplement and Medicare.

Essentially, Canada’s entire social security infrastructure carried out within five years of his

government (Cohen, 2008). In 1962 Pearson proposed a bilingualism commission in response to

the growing discontent among French Canadians in Québec, who demanded the protection of

their language and culture, and opportunities to fully participate in political and economic

decision making (Cohen, 2008). In 1964 Pearson addressed the annual convention of the Royal

Canadian Legion in Winnipeg. He was greeted with unhappy veterans with the announcement of

a new flag. This was a pivotal moment of the life of Canada. The Maple Leaf was adopted the

following year in 1965 (Cohen, 2008). Responding to the need for a public pension plan that

offered flexibility, a greater part of income replacement, and insurance for families against the

death or disability of a sole financial contributor, Pearson introduced the Canada Pension Plan as

well as Medicare in 1966. Pearson announced his resignation the following year and finally

retired in 1968 (Cohen, 2008).

Extraordinary Canadians: Lester B. Pearson by Andrew Cohen is a well written account

of the life and career of Lester B. Pearson; one of the most well known Canadians of the 20th

century. Cohen outlines the many distinguishing accomplishments of Pearson from his academic

achievements to his many political successes such as official bilingualism, the Order of Canada,

a new flag, the Canada Pension Plan, the Canada Assistance Plan, the Guaranteed Income

Supplement, and Medicare (Cohen, 2008). Overall, the biography provides great insight into not
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only Pearson’s life but into passages of his own writing which help readers to better relate to

him. One would emerge after reading this book with a much more complete grasp of Lester

Pearson’s life and the crucial role he played in shaping the Canada we know today.
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Work Cited

Cohen, Andrew. 2008. Lester B. Pearson. Toronto: Penguin.