Harperland: The Politics of Control

Written by Lawrence Martin

Narrated by Michael Puttonen

Harperland, the story Stephen Harper’s first four years in power, soared to the top of the best-seller lists in the first week it was out. Peter C. Newman called it “A book of revelations...This is Stephen Harper unplugged.” Don Martin of The National Post declared that it was an excellent book that provides insights, which the Prime Minister could well learn from.

In Harperland, Stephen Harper's governance comes under the microscope of prominent Globe and Mail columnist Lawrence Martin. Focusing on the growth of executive power under Harper and drawing on interviews with prominent insiders, Martin probes the smearing of opponents, the silencing of the public and diplomatic service, the secrecy, the prorogations, the unprecedented centralizing of power, and the attempted muzzling of the media. He examines controversies such as the existence of a secret dirty-tricks handbook, the Chuck Cadman affair, campaign financing, the dismissal of nuclear power head Linda Keen, the Afghan detainees cover-up, the turning of access-to-information laws into barricades to information, and more -- and lets readers draw their own conclusions. Tough but balanced, Harperland offers a clear picture of a skilled politician at a crucial point in Canadian politics.

Published by Post Hypnotic Press Inc. Distrubited by Big Happy Family LLC.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Post Hypnotic Press
• Release date: Mar 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781926910628

Lawrence Martin

Dr. Martin is board certified pulmonary physician practicing in Cleveland, Ohio, and on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. For twenty-five years he was chief of the Pulmonary Division at Mt. Sinai Hospital of Cleveland, a once prominent teaching hospital that closed its doors in 2000. Dr. Martins other profession is writing for both doctors and the lay public. His first published book was for a general audience, Breathe Easy: A Guide to Lung and Respiratory Diseases for Patients and Their Families (Prentice Hall, 1984). His next two books were for doctors, in the area of respiratory physiology. While writing these and other books he also published a series of human-interest articles, each about an intensive care patient cared for in Mt. Sinai. These stories, most of them previously published in magazines, are now collected in We Cant Kill Your Mother! and Other Stories of Intensive Care. Dr. Martin lives in a Cleveland suburb with his wife, Dr. Ruth S. Martin, a practicing psychiatrist. They have three girls, one a physician in training, one studying to be a lawyer, and one in college. His hobbies include scuba diving Scuba Diving Explained, Best Publishing Co., 1997), and golf. Having started golf in middle-age and suffered its usual humilities, he offers the following advice to anyone wishing to excel in the game: start as a kid and play often.

Reviews for Harperland

[maggieflo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book discusses the Harper government from 2006 to 2010. Martin provides a very good insight into the inner workings of the Reform/Conservative party and how the party, through Harper's absolute control has been able to survive as a minority for so long. Harper comes across as a very intelligent but mean, narrow minded vindictive control freak. Many examples are provided to demonstrate his ability to control communications, parliament and the government agenda in order to bring in sweeping changes that match his ideologies of smaller government, law and order and support to the military. He is portrayed as a mean, vindictive, often depressed man who readily fires staff who cross him. He is a leader who rules by keeping a stranglehold on information. His fortunes continue when the Liberal opposition is weak, dispirited and broke. I gave this a less than great rating as there is a lot to repetition in the narrative and the books could have used more editing.

[vancouverdeb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Harperland : The Politics of Control by Lawrence Martin.Are you like me? Are you wondering what happened to the Canada that you knew and loved?Have you been puzzled about why Harper left a Canadian child soldier,Omar Khadar to rot in Guantanamo Bay rather than extradite him home to Canada , against the dictates of the United Nations?Have you wondered why the funding to the CBC had been lessened - well, Harper feels that the CBC has too much of left wing agenda , and so he has cut their funding.Have you wondered why Canada's social safety net has been gradually being eroded?After Parliament was prorogued as per Harper, did you become concerned for democracy in Canada?Or, lately like me, though you had never voted for Harper, the Robocall Dirty Tricks, which might have affected the outcome of the last Canadian Election finally made you decide that you had to pick up a book like Harperland: The Politics of Control and try to gain some understanding of the very unsavory man who now rules over us?I'm not usually one to read a somewhat dry book about politics, but this latest edition of Harperland , which was updated just after Stephen Harper won his majority is the book to read and understand the direction that Canada is heading, and it's a scary direction.So much of Harper's background and thinking is explained in this book. Harper was once the Head of the National Citizens Coalition, and one thing that the group campaigned for was privatized health care. Now I understand why Harper is gradually decreasing the Federal Health Tranfers gradually over time and all our Premiers are enraged.Notice the constant wedge politics and negative ad campaigns of the Harper Conservatives? Well, Harper has sought advice on how to run his campaigns from the US republicans.Harper has a family history of loving the military, thus money for F-35, which so far come with no price tag. Had it been up to Harper, we would have been in the war in Iraq.Harper wants power, and has a ravenous desire for power. He's one scary guy. He believes in far right policies , but so as not to scare Canadians, he is bringing in changes incrementally.There is an amazing amount of information about Harper, not much about his personal life, but rather so many people that have worked with or for Harper have been willing to speak to the author. I trust the information in the book, because the author wrote a book against the Liberals, which concerned among other things, Jean Chretien and his Sponsorship Scandal. I don't think the author, Lawrence Martin is partisan in his writing, but rather seeks to find the truth through multiple sources.At the end of the book, the author has compiled 12 pages of notes concerning the sources of information that he used for his book. Where a question cannot be answered with an absolute yes or no, which is not infrequent, author Lawrence Martin will admit that.I'm left wondering , have my fellow Canadians changed to become more right wing - or is Harper slowly steering us to the far right?Either way, I am scared for Canada.4 stars.

[lynnb_64 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book examines the leadership style of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, arguing that he is centralizing control among a small group of trusted advisers, even to the extent of disrespecting democratic values. It is an interesting argument. Other prime ministers have been described as centralizing "control freaks" in the past, but never to this extent.This book is a topical and thought-provoking look at leadership styles. For me, I wonder to what extent Stephen Harper's style is a reflection of political change in Canada, rather than a driver of his political agenda. It appears that the great middle of the political spectrum that both Liberals and Progressive Conservatives held to gain power no longer exists. The Liberals have been reduced to third party status, Red Tories are disappearing and the NDP now form the Official Opposition. I also wonder to what extent Stephen Harper's rise can be characterized as simple luck, notably the sponsorship scandal that brought down Paul Martin's liberals. In other words: is Harper and his style an temporary phenomenon? Or, are Canadians entering a new kind of political reality characterized more by extremes of style and substances than the great middle ground we've cherished for so long? This book will make you think about these kinds of questions. It may also scare and/or depress you. But, it's an important work.

[reluctantm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Irrespective of whether you agree with Harper's social-conservative stance or not, this book demonstrates Harper's complete lack of regard for the Canadian public and the democratic process. When his closest advisers discuss how paranoid and vindictive he is and how he's surrounding himself with like-minded people in the PMO/PCO, it's very upsetting. I felt sick for most of this book. Sick and frightened for Canada.

[leeanne5pedersen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Despite all of the personal attacks on the author (who has also written similar books about the Liberals) by the Conservatives, it was a very well-balanced book and should be read by all Canadians. Harper has changed politics in Canada for the worse, and there will be no recovering from it. His paranoia and demand for total control is frightening.