Izzy

When anyone mixes journalism, the most fractious and introspective of all professions, with the ego of business and the freedom of jazz, the result is a superb and always surprising story. In Canada, where deference defines the national character in politics and business -- just as brashness defines American attitudes -- anyone with the ego of Izzy Asper is as rare as a humble Yank. Add Newman to this equation and the result is an insightful story about a remarkable media baron in the mold of Citizen Kane. Ho hum, so it's a biography of success? No, it's much more. Newman has an intense sense of Canadian nationalism, based on pride in what Canadians accomplish without fear, antagonism or deference to others. Any book about Asper would be interesting; this one is superb because it adds the perpetual introspection of good journalists who criticize politicians, business leaders and quidnuncs. Newman blends personal experience with his story of Asper to illustrate and question the loyalties to objectivity versus a publisher with different goals. For example: Antigone by Sophocles is a classic Greek play questioning loyalty to family versus the laws of society. Likewise, Newman examines divided loyalty between a publisher and an editor's conscience. In a time when the media is often criticized for much of what it does and everything it doesn't do, these elements of Asper's life are some of the most interesting reading. A most revealing section covers the firing of Ottawa Citizen editor Russell Mills after he called on Prime Minister Jean Chretien to resign. It's an example of how two men -- in this case an editor and the newspaper owner -- with opposing viewpoints can both be absolutely right even though poles apart in their conclusions. "Proprietors do have rights," writes Newman, citing his time as editor-in-chief of the Toronto Star. Any journalist who denies this needs to get a job flipping hamburgers and learn the "rights" of what it takes to make a good burger, let alone a good editor or publisher. It makes this a gem for every journalist, politician and business leader who feels offended by something in the paper, and for readers who want to understand the media. Anyone who combines jazz, journalism, politics and Canadian nationalism into a paragraph, let alone a book, deserves to be read, remembered and quoted. A good book is more than an interesting story; it is also a learning experience which gives the reader a new insight. As a former journalist who now looks after several hundred thousand discarded books, it's a pleasure to find, read and recommend books of this quality.