More about the senate scandal in general than specifically about Mike Duffy but well written. I was one of those geeks who listened in to the Senate happenings while Duffy and his political friends were being talked about so this was a nice read to summarize. The story is not over yet as criminal charges still need to be filed (hopefully) and the political fall-out has yet to really register with the Conservative government. Next year's election should be very interesting! ( )

I agree totally with the previous review. This book is well written and provides some background and context to the sensational news clips we all heard about Mike Duffy's Senate expense claims.

Anyone with an interest in the back-room of politics will enjoy this as a tale of political positioning and issues management. It is also a good character study of how a person can lose their way...inadvertently or not. ( )

Peter Mansbridge, a well respected national broadcaster for the CBC says in his forward to “Duffy: Stardom to Senate to Scandal” when he worked on Parliament Hill in the 1970’s and early 1980’s “Duffy was one of the hardest-working journalists on Parliament Hill.”

In an interview for the book Craig Oliver, CTV broadcaster, a longtime colleague and critic of Mike Duffy says “this was a guy who grew up awkward and fat and didn’t fit in. All his life he was driven by two things: status and money. Those were his fatal flaws.”

Duffy appeared to have a long held ambition to be a senator and lobbied both liberal and conservative governments for an appointment. Once appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008 he worked the country as a bagman for the Conservative party raising hundreds of thousands of dollars that supported the party’s election fund. At times, in his defence of the party, he forgot he was representing Prince Edward Island which later worked against him when the primary residence question arose. It is easy to see where his ambition overtook his judgement.

Dan Leger captures Duffy’s ambitions in a straightforward manner from the beginning of his journalistic career in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, to his glory days on Parliament Hill to his demise in the Red Chamber of Canada’s Senate. He presents the evidence that led to the senator’s downfall and leaves it up to the reader to decide if Duffy was careless in his record keeping or trying to work the angles to increase his expense money. Yes, the Senate procedures were, and still are, unclear in some areas, on the other hand they are very clear on what is your principal residence and what qualifies you to be a senator representing a particular province.

To return to Peter Mansbridge’s Preface “Dan Leger knows Parliament Hill, he knows the country and he knows Mike Duffy. I can’t think of anyone else who could tie all this together in a way that brings new light to a tale of money, backroom backstabbing and political intrigue at the highest levels. Read it. You may weep, you may laugh. You won’t be bored.” ( )