UNEASY LIES THE HEAD: THE TRUTH ABOUT CANADA'S CROWN CORPORATIONS. Stewart, Walter Toronto, Collins, 1987, 266pp, cloth, $24.95, ISBN 0-00-217757-9. CIP Grades 11 and up Reviewed by John D. Crawford Volume 15 Number 5 1987 November This is an “expose" of Crown Corporations in Canada insofar as it outlines many of the more inept incidents which have involved these bodies. These events have run the gamut from cupidity to stupidity, in many cases resulting in huge financial losses and in most calling into question either the integrity or ability of high-ranking public servants. The impression given is one in which Crown Corporations appear to derive the disadvantages but not the advantages of scale, and in which Parkinson's law operates in two ways: first, encouraging expansion by its very existence; second, promoting personnel above their level of competence. It would be easy to attribute many of these fiascos to the nature of Crown Corporations, but analysis suggests that the human factor is the weakness. This suggests the need for greater accountability, even in such mundane areas as the auditing function, and improved recruitment of able managers and directors. Stewart writes attractively about a subject which could have been a dull read in other hands. As he suggests, this is not the definitive book on the subject, although it has been researched and provides some thoughtful analysis. His final chapter offers advice which could well be considered by our political masters and provides the basis for a commonsense approach to a problem which does not result from the nature of Crown Corporations but in how they are operated. An ideal introduction to an important feature of our society. John D. Crawford, Blanshard School, Victoria, B.C.