“Private Letters, Public Matters is an important study of our greatest diplomat. Well-written and well-researched, it has insight and pace. Reading it reminds one that public service - as civil servant or legislator - is still a high calling, vital to national success."Colin Robertson, Policy MagazineLester B. Pearson (LBP) was only Prime Minister of Canada for 5 years (1963-68), but he had a much longer life - 40 years - in Canadian public service. He was a Canadian diplomat for 20 of those years, and a politician for another 20, but that second career calling was mostly spent practicing variations of the first one. It is hard to believe a person might say the pinnacle of their life's work was NOT being a Prime Minister, and Lester Pearson never suggested that, but receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, which to date he is the only Canadian to have won, was for him its own pinnacle - a recognition of his superb diplomatic skills. My grandfather was, above all, a people person, who took joy in forging personal relationships, a key to his career success. The Nobel symbolized the power of that basic social skill, a core element of his "Pearsonality." This book - a travel through time via letters that LBP wrote to and received from his family, especially his career diplomat son Geoffrey Pearson (my father) - retells the Pearson story using the lens of these hundreds of missives. They collectively show how 'Mike' Pearson witnessed, and participated in, an extraordinary time of war and peace in Canadian and world history during the first 3/4 of the 20th century. They speak not only to how he saw his work, but also his loves - of family, of children and grandchildren, of popular entertainment such as theatre and the cinema, and of team sports, which he played, coached and watched all his life. They show his extraordinary ability to connect with others - fellow diplomats and politicians, international statesmen, professional athletes, and many so-called "ordinary" Jane and Joe Canadians who appreciated his self-deprecation and valued his charm and common sense, albeit at times shaking their heads at his foibles. His affable personality did get him into trouble at times, but he rarely had serious enemies (John Diefenbaker a possible exception). PRIVATE LETTERS, PUBLIC MATTERS also tells another story - that of my father, who had his own adventures and challenges, such as being a Canadian diplomat who was simultaneously "the son of" and therefore often treated with a mix of deference and suspicion. Dad was not the naturally affable type - as he once said, he tended to have the more dour outlook of his mother - but he had a logic-driven and sharp mind, never lacking for an ability to make superb assessments about people, events and trends, a skill that, as some letters show, led to advice to his father about 'public matters' which the elder Pearson often welcomed and sometimes took. Dad also shared a "Pearsonian" trait - a wicked sense of humour. Lester B. Pearson died over 50 years ago, but his name lives on (thanks to Toronto's Pearson airport for one, which means his name has been cursed at times!). Many Canadians alive today know only of the name, although some of us older types can still remember his time. To both those who remember the man, and those who only know he existed, I hope this book can share additional light on a memorable legacy.
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