Against the Odds: The Public Life and Times of Louis Rasminsky

Against the Odds is the story of a man who played an important role in the postwar economic development of Canada. Louis Rasminsky, governor of the Bank of Canada from 1961 to 1973, was one of only two Jewish senior civil servants in Canada when he was appointed. This authorized biography of Rasminsky’s professional life will enlighten anyone interested in the formation of Canadian economic and monetary policy after World War II. It is the tale of an extraordinary figure in Canadian history.

Rising above many formidable challenges, Rasminsky made a name for himself at the Bank of Canada, at the Foreign Exchange Control Board and later at the international conferences that helped restructure the world economy. The heart of this work is devoted to his increasingly important work at the Bank from 1940 on, his time as governor, and the role the Bank played in Canada’s economic development. Bruce Muirhead has produced a work that is the product of thorough research in the archives of Geneva, London, Ottawa, Washington and elsewhere. As well, he interviewed many principals in the events that he describes and had direct access to Rasminsky’s personal papers and the subject himself.

This is a sound, scholarly treatment of a remarkable individual. As well, Against the Odds will do much to restore the Bank of Canada as an institution to its rightful place at the centre of scholarly treatments of financial questions and the international negotiations surrounding them.

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