From the London, Ontario journalist, and longstanding host of CBC’s As It Happens, this is not what I exected when I borrowed it from the OPL. It s not mainly anecdotes from her interviews with many public figures, but a discourse on the power and meaning of six different words: Freedom, Democracy, Truth, Woke, Choice, and Taxes, and how those six words are used and distorted by autocrats and the rich and famous of the modern world to maintain their power.
Far ranging and detailed with examples from around the world, and with a very personal touch, she documents how would-be dictators use and abuse these words, changing their meaning, to maintain their status in politics and modern culture.
I will not spoil your reading by giving any specific examples, but this is a must- read book for anyone with interest in world affairs and even an iota of compassion for their fellow human beings, although a bit frightening. The rich and autocratic no doubt use their power to minimize her readership, but her message of tolerance for different viewpoints should be widely appreciated. I did not even find her message to be particularly left wing.
5/5
Thanks, Goodreads.
The Passionate Reader 