About the book

Author: Keenan, Edward

Title: Some great idea: good neighbourhoods, crazy politics and the invention of Toronto.

Publication: Toronto : Coach House Books, c2013. 175 p. ISBN: 9781552452660.

About the book

This small, readable book by Toronto journalist Edward Keenan did something I thought could never happen – it made the election of Toronto mayor Rob Ford almost make sense!

Starting with a number “Toronto stories”, including his meeting with then-Councillor Rob Ford in 2006, Keenan uses story to describe different facets and ways of life the city of Toronto.

He starts by looking at the history of the city, tracing his narrative back to three main historic “heroes”: the city’s first (revolutionary) mayor, William Lyon MacKenzie, through the (revolutionary) city-building by R.C. Harris in the pre-WW1 era, and (revolutionary) city-building by the late Jane Jacobs in the 1960s and 70s.

The villain of the piece is Michael Deane (“Mike”) Harris, whose forcible amalgamation of a number of municipalities so changed the political landscape of the city. In the post-Amalgamation period, he examines Toronto’s seemingly inexplicable mood swings in the election of each successive mayor to illustrate the values and major issues important to the large body of constituents who elected them.

An engaging mix of first-hand accounts and well-researched history, this short guide to the recent past is sure to teach even the most avid politico something new and to help the rest of us get a handle on the insanity that is municipal politics in Toronto.