This is a fascinating biography of a luminary Canadian, and one of the country's most important prime ministers, William Lyon Mackenzie King. King was a brilliant tactician, passionately committed to Canadian unity and a protector of the underdog, introducing such cornerstones of Canada's social safety net as unemployment insurance, family allowances and old-age pensions. With animated prose and a subtle wit, Allan Levine weaves a multidimensional portrait of this most compelling of politicians.