Ken Rockburn has been hosting programs at CPAC (Cable Public
Affairs Channel) since 200l – giving two shows “Talk Politics” and
“Rockburn Presents”. This book takes interviews mainly from the second
group. If you enjoy Rockburn on air, this brings back many memorable
moments.
John Doyle, of The Globe and Mail, praises Rockburn in a Preface
to the book for his skill at the long-form interview. It is true that
he gives his subject time to express himself, without interruption, and
this often results in intimate, heart-warming moments. Peter Gzowski
returns in all his wit and fun in one of the last interviews he gave
before his death in January 2002. Rick Mercer talks frankly about
being funny. Dennis Lee tries to explain how he feels a poem like
dancing, before it turns into words.
There are good pieces by Julie Payette, the Astronaut, also by
Cindy Sheehan, the American mother who tried to stop the war in Iraq
after she had lost a son there.
There is nothing sentimental about this book. It does however
appeal to any nostalgia we may have for recent years just past and some
truly interesting Canadians — from playwrights and actors to an
architect and visionary. Very easy to pick up…and well worth reading.
Book Review by Anne McDougall