Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders Book

William Lyon Mackenzie King is Canada's greatest prime minister. Kim Campbell is our worst. That's the judgement of 25 noted Canadian historians and political scientists, the arbiters of a Maclean's study- and now the basis for an entertaining new book that ranked our prime ministers on criteria such as electoral success, national unity, party politics, election strategies, foreign policy and leadership skills.

The result is a fascinating report card on our country's leaders, where Willie's perceived personal flaws didn't spoil his number one ranking in the "Great" grouping, Brian's opportunism helped to hold him to eighth in the "Average" category and Joe's unfortunate timing in taking over from Pierre in 1979 contributed to his fifteenth place standing in the "Low Average" ranking.

Twenty portraits- listed in chronological order- describe the common issues that tested the politician's mettle and give a succinct biography of their lives and times. Co-authored by two historians adept at turning history into thought-provoking dialogue, Prime Ministers is bound to have pundits and political animals of all kinds lining up to compare their own prime picks and cellar dwellers. Accompanied by cartoons, photographs, and an index of political issues, Prime Ministers crackles with energy, a superb book for history and political junkies and a well-researched, useful guide for the classroom.