Summary

From one of Canada's most respected and recognizable journalists comes a collection of the best interviews with the leading thinkers and cultural icons of our time, from the country's most trusted interview show. An extraordinary selection from Newsworld'sMansbridge One on One, including politicians, journalists, arts and sports figures and newsmakers behind the biggest issues of the past decade. Canadians have long relied on award-winning anchor and journalist Peter Mansbridge to inform and enlighten us, whether at the helm ofThe Nationalor onMansbridge One on One, his weekly interview show. In this, his first book, he collects the most illuminating and timely interviews from the past ten years, book-ending each with his behind-the-scenes recollections and anecdotes. Mansbridge acts as our guide as we get the inside story from prominent figures from all walks of life, including world leaders, music legends and sports heroes. Among the more than 40 interviewees included in the book are: Bill Clinton Sidney Crosby Bill Gates Diana Krall Benjamin Netanyahu Barack Obama Shimon Peres Desmond Tutu Brian Wilson From the Hardcover edition.

Author Biography

Peter Mansbridge is the Chief Correspondent of CBC News. He anchors CBC’s flagship nightly news program, The National, and all CBC News specials. He is also the host of CBC Newsworld’s Mansbridge One on One. During a decorated career, he has received 12 Gemini Awards for excellence in broadcast journalism.

From the Hardcover edition.

Acknowledgements
Introduction

Conrad Black
Diana Krall
Karlheinz Schreiber
The Aga Khan
Randy Bachman
Sir Martin Gilbert
Marc Garneau
Devra Davis
Perdita Felicien
The Golfers
Colm Feore
Brian Clark
Hamid Karzai
Roya Rahmani
Tariq Aziz
Brian Wilson
Bill Clinton
Paul Watson
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Duleep de Chickera
Bill Gates
South Africa
The Dalai Lama
First Nations
Israeli PMs
Diana Buttu
Rex Murphy
The Hockey Players
The Prime Ministers
Ted Sorensen
Barack Obama

Final Thoughts

Supplemental Materials

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Excerpts

CONRAD BLACK

I first met Conrad Black at the wedding of a mutual friend in Toronto. In fact, Black, Mike Duffy and I were three people rolled into one to give a little spine to the man about to end his years of bachelorhood— quite a combination. And who, pray tell, was the lucky groom who had entrusted these three musketeers with such an important role on such a critical day? The internationally respected globe-trotting correspondent Brian Stewart, whom Black had gone to school with when the two were growing up in Toronto, and whom Duffy and I had worked with in the Ottawa bureau of the cbc during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Brian's two lives, personal and professional, came together on a beautiful summer day in September 1989, and the three of us were determined to do our part. Black had the chore of managing the ring; Duffy and I were to ensure that the guests were directed to the appropriate seats. And we would all, of course, be up front when the ceremony took place. Everything was going perfectly: arrivals were on time, Brian was in an acceptable state of nervousness, and the minister was ready, willing and clearly able. With everyone seated, we were standing at the front and could hear the arrival of the bridal party, with the beautiful, incredibly charming and seriously funny Tina Srebotnjak at centre stage.

The next moment was supposed to involve a musically accompanied procession down the stately centre aisle of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. But there was a problem, and for what seemed like an eternity we had no idea what it was. Feet shuffled. Throats cleared. The crowd began to murmur. And then word was relayed from aisle to aisle that no one had escorted Tina's mother to her seat. She was stranded at the King Street entrance.

At the very moment that I was realizing this had been my blunder, my eyes met Black's. He had a look on his face that I suspect he normally reserved for his butler. His head was slightly lowered, and then he sharply tilted it back with his nose pointed directly down the centre aisle to where Vida Srebotnjak was waiting. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. It was clear what the message was:Get her. Now.

The rest of the wedding went off without a hitch, a wonderful start to what has been a wonderful marriage. And then it was back to our respective lives, Black to managing his millions and building his newspaper empire, and the rest of us to the more basic grunt work of journalism. Our paths crossed a few times over the years, but it wasn't until 1999 and the very firstOne on Onethat I actually had a chance to sit down and talk with the man, who at that time was a London-based major international tycoon. He was also involved in what had become a bitter fight with the then prime minister, Jean Chrétien, over his citizenship.

Black had been offered a British peerage— a seat in the House of Lords— but Chrétien countered that if Black took the offer he would have to renounce his Canadian citizenship. To back his position, the Prime Minister relied on an eighty-year-old parliamentary document, the Nickle Resolution, in which Ottawa called on London not to bestow any titles of honour on Canadians. Chrétien's critics argued that his position had nothing to do with Nickle and everything to do with one of Black's newspapers, theNational Post, which had been attacking Chrétien on a variety of issues with a great deal of vigour. When we had our conversation, Black was still a Canadian, the peerage was on hold, and the fight with Chrétien was very much at play.

1999 - 09 – 12

Peter Mansbridge: I was thinking on the way into this interview, what would I have been calling you if the Prime Minister hadn't blocked this appointment?

Conrad Black: Same as you are now.

PM:

Excerpted from Peter Mansbridge One on One: Favourite Conversations and the Stories Behind Them by Peter Mansbridge
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.