Peter C. Newman
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Peter Charles Newman, C.C. (born May 10, 1929) is a Canadian journalist.
Born in Vienna, Austria, he emigrated from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to Canada in 1940 as a Jewish refugee. His father, Peter, was a wealthy factory owner. Newman was educated at Upper Canada College, where he was a member of Seaton's House, and the University of Toronto. He has been a reporter for the Financial Post, served as editor of the Toronto Star, and was the long-time editor of Maclean's, stewarding its transformation from a general interest magazine to a weekly newsmagazine. He continues to write a column for the periodical. In 1978 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to the rank of Companion in 1990.
Newman is widely respected for his intimate knowledge and understanding of Canadian business leaders. His 1975 book, The Canadian Establishment was widely acclaimed. Newman made his name as an author in the 1960s with the publication of two books: Renegade in Power: The Diefenbaker Years (1963), a study of the government of John George Diefenbaker that some say helped destroy the Tory leader's career and The Distemper of Our Times (1968), an examination of Canadian politics during the era of Lester Pearson.
On September 12, 2005, he announced the publication of The Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions of a Prime Minister, a biography of former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, whom he considers a friend. The information released to the press contained several surprising revelations, including an alleged claim by Mulroney that Pierre Trudeau's contribution "was not to build Canada but to destroy it." Later the same day, Mulroney issued a press release stating he felt "devastated" and "betrayed" by the publication of information he had understood to be confidential. Shortly after the publication of The Secret Mulroney Tapes, both Mulroney and Conrad Black filed suit against Newman.
Newman has been married four times, once to writer Christina McCall. He lives with his fourth wife, Alvy Newman, in London, England.
[edit] Selected bibliography
- 1959 Flame of Power: Intimate Profiles of Canada's Greatest Businessmen
- 1963 Renegade in Power: The Diefenbaker Years
- 1968 The Distemper of Our Times: Canadian Politics in Transition 1963-1968
- 1973 Home Country: People, Places, and Power Politics
- 1975 The Canadian Establishment
- 1978 Bronfman Dynasty: The Rothschilds of the New World
- 1982 The Establishment Man: A Portrait of Power
- 1983 True North, Not Strong and Free: Defending the Peaceable Kingdom in the Nuclear Age
- 1985 Company of Adventurers
- 1987 Caesars of the Wilderness
- 1989 Empire of the Bay
- 1996 The Canadian Revolution: From Deference To Defiance
- 1998 Titans: How the New Canadian Establishment Seized Power
- 1998 Sometimes a Great Nation-Will Canada Belong to the 21st Century?
- 2004 Here Be Dragons: Telling Tales of People, Passion and Power (autobiography)
- 2005 The Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions of a Prime Minister
