Inside dust jacket, written in 1992: “Cameron Smith, a former managing editor of The Globe and Mail, has long been fascinated by the history and achievements of the two parties—the CCF and the NDP—that consecutively have dominated the Canadian left for sixty years.

“In his first book, the bestselling and highly acclaimed Unfinished Journey, Smith mined the history of the Lewis family, whose names are almost synonymous with democratic socialism in Canada. In Love & Solidarity, Smith paints the bigger picture—that of the origins and fortunes of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and its direct descendant, the New Democratic Party. And he does so in an unconventional and wholly successful way by using images to show and their captions to tell the roller-coaster story of the parties’ changing fortunes.

“Through this extensive collection of photographs, cartoons, posters, and handbills, Smith shows more than the simple story of the party. He has captured the original and enduring vision, the determination, and the spirit that have inspired generations with the conviction that we can build a fairer and more decent society in Canada.

“In the sixty years since the CCF was founded in Calgary amid the prairie dust of drought and ecnomonic depression, the party has thrived despite attacks from both the left and right, and even from within. Most of its policies, adopted and implemented by other parties, are now the mesh of the social safety net that most Canadians consider makes this country the best place on earth to live.”