The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present
All reviews
Worth the read
Well documented, well written and worth the read. Well done Phil.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Darren Brown
Police Officer – Royal Canadian Mounted Police
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Highly recommended
Highly recommended. Read it last weekend. An important contribution, to the literature, for both LE and academics.
Peter Collins
Operational Forensic Psychiatrist, Ontario Provincial Police
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Thanks for putting that all together!
Just finished reading your most recent book – it provided a great overview of the function of security agencies in Canada and significant events. It’s hard to find literature the combines Canada and terrorism but this is a great resource. I wasn’t around for the FLQ or Air India bombings, but I got some great insights from the book. Thanks for putting that all together!
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Informed and informative
An informed and informative account of Canada’s experience with terrorism. Written by a seasoned insider, Gurski’s observations have relevance that extends beyond the country’s borders. An important contribution to the field, a fascination read.
Brian Michael Jenkins
Senior advisor to the President of RAND and terrorism expert
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An absolute “must read”
Phil Gurski is one of the foremost authorities on terrorism in Canada. In his latest book The Peaceable Kingdom, he provides an insiders perspective into the secretive world of terrorism and its history in Canada. He weaves together an insightful narrative of salient terrorist events that have a direct nexus to Canada; from the the assassination of Thomas D’Arcy McGee by an Irish Nationalist in 1868, to the bombing of Air India flight 182 by Sikh extremists, 9/11 and, the continuing challenge of Canadian youth being radicalized and traveling overseas to fight for groups like ISIS and Al-Shabaab in places like Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. I consider it an absolute “must read” for any security intelligence and counter-terrorism practitioner, as well as anyone interested in geo-politics.
William C. Malone
Former RCMP Officer
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An informative, scintillating journey
The Peaceable Kingdom is an excellent primer about terrorism activities in Canada reaching back to days of Confederation. One does not think of terrorism actually happening on Canadian soil or to Canadian entities elsewhere. After all Canada is known as the country where we say, “I’m sorry” a lot. Yet in the past few decades, there have been incidents, some diffused and controlled by law enforcement/intelligence agencies, others where lives were lost. Phil has written this book from a first person perspective, which puts a human face to the issue, having worked in the field of counter-terrorism for many years. It is written in understandable terminology allowing the reader with little knowledge of the area to get a solid grasp of how terrorism from abroad has made its way onto Canadian shores and its impact. Phil highlights key events and provides a good overview as to how Canadian intelligence agencies operate to mitigate and eliminate alleged threats, handle the aftermath of others as learning experiences. Through his personal work experiences, both in the public and private sector, Phil takes the reader on an informative, scintillating journey through various scenarios that reinforce the message that terrorism has no boundaries.
Iwona Mooney
Former colleague
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A comprehensive and rivetingly personal account of terrorism in Canada
As well as having an extensive and hard-earned knowledge of terrorism, Phil Gurski is a fantastically lucid writer, whose common-sense, humor and rock-solid ability to speak plainly make him an essential guide in a field full of arm-chair theorists. The Peaceable Kingdom is a comprehensive and rivetingly personal account of terrorism in Canada that will be of interest to anyone who wants to understand terrorism and the challenges it poses.
Simon Cotten
Senior lecturer in Criminology at the University of Kent
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Another building block in his collective effort to answer many of those questions
I met Phil Gurski many years ago as he was at the outset of his personal dedication to try to understand extremist and terrorist movements and the people in them. Moreover, Phil always wants to talk about radicalization in Canada, that individual path to becoming a terrorist and what we as a democracy can do to stop it. Phil raised the growing threat of radicalisation in Canada even when few wanted to listen – until for many, it was too late. Phil’s recent work is another building block in his collective effort to answer many of those questions that I, among many others, began asking over four decades ago.
Alan R. Jones
Former Assistant Director, CSIS
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The Peaceable Kingdom? A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the Present
2021 | Phil Gurski
While Canada has not been menaced by terrorism like some countries it is not immune. A new book on terrorism in that land over the past 150 years – The Peaceable Kingdom: A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the present – is now out!
3 replies on “The Peaceable Kingdom reviews”
From an Ontario student:
The Peaceable Kingdom is an informative and valuable read. It tells you everything you need to know about terrorism in Canada since day one. It’s written in a way that attracts the reader to learn more. I was able to finish the book in a few sittings because it’s well written, engaging and rich in information. If you’re here reading this review, you might as well read this book. You will be surprised how good it is.
From a former colleague, also named Phil!
It’s enlightening when an actual practitioner (over the three decades plus in signals and security intelligence) can find a way to talk about his experiences in an unclassified forum, and how different they might have been than as portrayed in the media. The Peaceable Kingdom has an excellent closing chapter on the counterterrorism challenges facing western intelligence agencies in this modern era—things like the difference between collecting intelligence vs. evidence, use of human sources, public use of encryption, overwhelming volumes of digital data, resource allocation, and public perception. If you think this is an easy job, read this part twice. When Phil writes, “Security intelligence is a complicated business,” my immediate thought is, “Phil, it’s not just complicated, it’s mind-bendingly complex!” In the foreword of the book, Ward Elcock offers that there is “no obvious easy explanation as to why we have never suffered a major attack” (so far). I might argue that it’s in great part because of the dedicated hard work of security practitioners like the folks at the RCMP, CSE, and CSIS—including Phil Gurski.
Phil G.
(Another Phil G., and a current practitioner. One who had the privilege of working with Phil, on occasion.)
The Peaceable Kingdom is an informative and valuable read. It tells you everything you need to know about terrorism in Canada since day one. It’s written in a way that attracts the reader to learn more. I was able to finish the book in a few sittings because it’s well written, engaging and rich in information. If you’re here reading this review, you might as well read this book. You will be surprised how good it is.