Frederick Gardiner's public life was rich and long, from his initiation into politics as a Toronto schoolboy before the First World War, through his involvement with the Ontario Conservative party and suburban politics in the 1930s and 1940s, on through his years as first chairman of Metropolitan Toronto (1953-61), to the relinquishing of his last public office in 1979.

This is a readable and perceptive biography of the exuberant and powerful politician who captured the public imagination of Toronto and created a legend around himself during his lifetime.

The book focuses...