Full Title
On Six Continents: A Life in Canada's Foreign Service
Description
Muskoka, the University of Western Ontario, Ottawa, New York,
Colombia, Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Peru, Cuba, Israel, Belgium, South
Africa, Australia –the place-names tell the story of an amazing
career. Then there are the people involved –Trudeau, Clark, and
Chrétien, Kissinger, Castro, Rabin, Walesa, Havel, Mandela and
dozens of others. Not to mention the moments of high drama: when
young Jim Bartleman becomes Ottawa’s security expert on terrorism
during the FLQ crisis in 1970; or when he leads the movement to
bring countries like Poland and Ukraine into NATO and the West.
But this is also a light-hearted look at what our diplomats
actually do and is full of funny stories: so watch young Jim attend
a drunken party with Trudeau; compete with Mother Teresa for
Bangladesh babies; or sweep his Belgian bride off her feet to the
altar. Bartleman also writes candidly about falling prey to
depression, and about his concern, as a native Canadian, to see
aboriginal peoples well treated. In summary, a richly varied career,
as the only Canadian diplomat to serve on all six continents, well
told by a remarkable character.
Author
James Bartleman rose from humble circumstances in Port Carling,
Ontario, to become Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister in
1994. He is the author of the prize-winning memoir Out of Muskoka.
In 2002 he became the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. Mr. Bartleman
is donating his 2004 royalties to the Munk Centre for International
Studies at the University of Toronto to support a lecture series
entitled “Political Power and Mental Health”, designed to engage the
public in discussion on issues central to “Shared Citizenship” in
Canada. |