Updated: Thu Nov. 05 2009 13:34:13

ctvmontreal.ca

"Just Watch Me" -- Pierre Elliott Trudeau's most famous quote at one of the pivotal moments in Canadian history, is the title of a new biography by John English.

The Trudeau family gave English exclusive access to the papers and letters of the late prime minister, who ran Canada in flamboyant fashion for most of the period from 1968 to 1984.

Eldest son Justin Trudeau, who recently followed his father into politics after a lengthy teaching career, tells Canada AM that most of the book's revelations surprised him even thought he knew the prime minister as well as anyone.

"When he was prime minister, I was zero to 13 years old," said Justin.

"He didn't come home and say 'geez, Rene-Levesque was giving me a hard time today' or whatever. He didn't bring his work home."

Justin Trudeau says he grew up essentially unaware of the nuts and bolts of politics, because his parents sheltered the children from the dirty side of the profession.

Sweeping scope

Just Watch Me is the second volume in English's sweeping biography of the former prime minister who invoked the War Measures act three days after making his famous comments to a television reporter. The reporter had asked if sending the army into Montreal and Ottawa was a wise decision during the FLQ crisis of 1970.

The book covers the period from Trudeau's inauguration in 1968 to his death in 2000 at the age of 80. It chronicles Trudeau's stormy reign as well as his public and dramatic relationship with Margaret Trudeau.

Humanizing

Justin Trudeau, 37, says he learned about the decisions his father made in different situations and also gained insight into how better to navigate the political waters.

He also learned that his father was not always the iconic figure that's portrayed in the media.

"There is a lot of mythology around my father ... and people are forgetting what the real man was like," said Justin, who represents Papineau riding for the Liberals.

"He was an extraordinary man but he was a man and he had flaws and he made mistakes."

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