Kenneth McNaught – författare

In this elegant and rigorously researched work, Kenneth McNaught details the life, work, and principles of J.S Woodsworth and shows the powerful moral and political force that the pacifist, Methodist thinker exerted on Canadian politics.Woodsworth first went to the House of Commons in 1922, and became leader of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation at its formation in 1933. A socialist to the end, he exhibited his anti-war convictions to Parliament, when, in 1939, he alone spoke out against joining the war in Europe. Woodsworth's ideas and strong social conscience helped to shape the development of the welfare state in Canada, and have left an intellectual legacy in both socialist and liberal circles.A Prophet in Politics marks the progress of socialism in Canada, as well as the economic and political conditions in the first half of the twentieth century. McNaught, who died in 1997, is himself an important figure in Canadian history, having fought as a professor of history for academic freedom and having brought the scholarly discussion of national politics into the public sphere. At the time of its original publication, Globe and Mail reviewers called it 'a definitive biography that in drama and organization ranks with the best books about the makers of Canada.' This edition, presented in the 'Reprints in Canadian History' series, includes a new introduction by Allen Mills.

Anyone interested in Canadian academic affairs, history writing, left-wing politics, or Toronto society will find themselves utterly engaged by the witty and urbane voice behind these memoirs of a man who seemed to know simply everyone. Kenneth McNaught's delightful autobiography mixes acute observations on key political issues with memories of his student days in the 1930s, watercolour painting, and summers on Garden Island.Born in 1918, Kenneth McNaught attended Upper Canada College, North Toronto Collegiate Institute, and the University of Toronto, where he eventually became a history professor. During McNaught's stay at United College of Winnipeg in the1950s, historian Harry Crowe was dismissed when a private letter critical of the administration found its way into the president's hands. McNaught gives a gripping account of his involvement in this landmark case in the history of academic freedom, which resulted in the development of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, and proved to be his most formative experience. He also discusses his role in the League for Social Reconstruction, the turmoil in the universities in the 1960s, Canada's complicity in Vietnam, the campaign against nuclear war, and his reaction to the growing independence movement in Quebec.Conscience and History is a thought-provoking personal look at the ethical questions Canadians have faced in the past fifty years written by one of our leading historians.