Pierre Trudeau: The Books that Shaped his Young Mind

Read to Lead: The Shaping of Young Pierre Trudeau’s Mind

How is the mind of a successful person shaped? One way is by reading actively – interacting with the words on the page. We have been exploring the concept of the shaping of the mind of highly successful people by looking at their personal libraries. This is not a segment in the series, because I have not yet found sufficient information on Pierre Trudeau’s personal library. What I have found is a biography, Young Trudeau: 1919-1944: Son of Quebec, Father of Canada, which focuses on the younger years of Canada’s 15th Prime Minister. I was ecstatic when I discovered the book, but after I delved deeper into Chapter 7, Read to Lead, my enthusiasm was considerably dampened because I did not find as many books as I would have liked to write a post about the books in his personal library.

The authors, Max Nemni and Monique Nemni write, “He [Pierre Trudeau] engaged in a virtual dialogue with the authors who had caught his attention, jotting down his response to their views. Some of his comments were so personal that, reading them now, one feels embarrassed at intruding like a stranger on the intimacy of his soul.” These are very powerful words that give us insights into the shaping of a successful mind.

Some of the Books Pierre Trudeau Read in his Twenties

1. Le désespéré, Leon Bloy
2. La femme pauvre, Leon Bloy
3. A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare
4. The Tempest, William Shakespeare (Trudeau wasn’t very impressed)
5. Le pain dur, Paul Claudel
6. Le voyage du centurion, Ernest Psichari
7. The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, GK Chesterton
8. Point Counterpoint, Aldous Huxley
9. Pensées, Blaise Pascal
10. Les Deux Sources de la Morale et de la Religion, Henri Bergson
11. Du cote de chez Swann (Swann's Way), Marcel Proust
12. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
13. L'Equipee voyage au pays du reel, Victor Segalen
14. Les Voyages de Marco Polo (Collection Du Nenuphar – Les Meilleurs Auteurs Canadiens), Alain Grandbois
15. Le souverain captif (la revolution a refaire 1/ le souverain captif), Andre Tardieu

Although there are only 15 books mentioned, it is interesting to know what a Prime Minister was reading while he attended university. Some of the books that Pierre Trudeau, we have seen them before in the personal libraries of other successful people. Liked this post? Share it on social media and leave a comment as well as subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more! If you’re new to the blog, visit the Start Here page for my pillar posts.

Author Bio: Avil Beckford, an expert interviewer, entrepreneur and published author is passionate about books and professional development, and that's why she founded The Invisible Mentor and the Virtual Literary World Tour to give you your ideal mentors virtually in the palm of your hands by offering book reviews and book summaries, biographies of wise people and interviews of successful people. Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

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