DAMN THE TORPEDOES: MY FIGHT TO UNIFY CANADA'S ARMED FORCES Hellyer, Paul Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1990. 306pp, cloth, $29.95, ISBN 0-7710-4061-X. CIP Post-secondary Reviewed by J.D. Ingram Volume 18 Number 5 1990 September Paul Hellyer was involved in federal politics for several years after 1949. His first cabinet position was as minister of Defence under Lester Pearson. He has written other books such as Agenda: A Plan for Action (Prentice Hall of Canada, 1971) and Exit Inflation (Nelson Canada, 1981). Hellyer uses part of David Farragut's phrase (not Franklin Roosevelt's, as the author suggests on page 159) for the title of this book. Hellyer's fight to unify the Canadian armed forces is indeed the core of the story, but because it is a "case study in political process," it includes a number of other stories, which the author calls "trivia." When the author focuses on the unification of the armed forces, he does provide an interesting and detailed chronological account. In each chapter there is careful but not excessive footnoting. It is interesting to compare Hellyer's side of the story with that of Jeffry Brock in his book. Thunder & the Sunshine(McClelland & Stewart, 1983). Their recollections and writings are very divergent! In the "trivia" category: does it matter where and when he danced and dined (page 97)? Earlier, the author remarks that he got married on June 1, 1945, and "A few days later Germany surrendered...". (Germany surrendered on May 8,1945.) This inaccuracy casts some doubt on later recollections. There are sixteen pages of black-and-white photographs. Notes are provided for quotations used, but there is no bibliography. Much of this book, based on personal diaries, is autobiographical. As with many such endeavours, the result is one-sided and often seems to be somewhat self-serving. Libraries should wait for the paper edition. J.D. Ingram, Gordon Bell High School, Winnipeg, Man.