Check out Al Johnson's new website - launched August 2006: www.awjohnson.net

Celebrate the Launch of Dream No Little Dreams by Al Johnson

In April 2004, Former Deputy Minister and President of the CBC, Al Johnson released his first book, Dream No Little Dreams, about the Tommy Douglas government and the implementation of medicare. To celebrate the launch, MJC organized book launches in Regina and Ottawa.

Award Winner - Canadian Political Science Association Donal Smiley Prize 2005

"This is an intensely personal account of a remarkable government. Al Johnson was present at the creation, and for nearly two decades after, as the Douglas Government set about not just reforming but revolutionizing Canadian understanding of the meaning of modern government. The Douglas years marked a political transformation in three respects: the creation of an expert bureaucracy, the introduction of universal social policies and the establishment of active and, on balance, profitable federal-provincial fiscal relations.

Reading Dream No Little Dreams creates the sensation that Harold Carter and Lord Carnarvon must have experienced when they broke through into the tomb of Tutankhamon . 'So this is what it was like!' Intimate, knowledgeable and scholarly, Johnson's account of how populist or protest movements evolve when suddenly confronted with the rigours of governing has timeless relevance. In addition, there are insights about the mechanics of provincial politics and policy-making. Mesmeric as the leader was, Johnson makes clear that the Douglas Government was by no means a one-man operation.

Even the story of how this book came to be published is unique, with a senior civil servant going back to rework his forty-year-old dissertation to document a government and movement that has been woefully understudied."

Comments about Dream No Little Dreams

"A.W. Johnson has written an excellent and hugely detailed study of the trailblazing government of Tommy Douglas. Dream No Little Dreams is the best book I have read on how governments translate their goals into effectively administered policies. ...It is a massive contribution to understanding government in Canada, and destined to become a classic."

Allan E. Blakeney, Premier of Saskatchewan (1971-82) and Visiting Scholar, College of Law, University of Saskatchewan

Regina Book Launch and Signing  •  Friday, April 30, 2004

Agra Torchinsky Salon at the MacKenzie Art Gallery (T.C. Douglas Building)

The " Saskatchewan Mafia": Tommy McLeod, Wes Bolstad, Art Wakabayashi, Don Tansley and Al Johnson ( Thomas K. Shoyama missing)	Al Johnson greets and signs a book for the Hon. Roy Romanow , former premier of Saskatchewan	Al Johnson at the Symposium on Public Administration and the Douglas Government (held at the University of Regina) with Hon. Allan Blakney, former premier of Saskatchewan

Al Johnson says a few words about Dream No Little Dreams	Al greets Greg Marchildon, Canada Research Chair, University of Regina	Al Johnson signs copies of Dream No Little Dreams	Ruth Johnson (wife of Al) with Art and Marj Wakabayashi

Ottawa Book Launch and Signing  • Thursday, May 6, 2004

Nicholas Hoare Books

Al Johnson introduces Her Excellency Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada to Rosemary Proctor	Jim Mitchell opens the event	Tom Kent says a few words about Al Johnson, the book and the Douglas Government

Al Johnson signs a copy of Dream No Little Dreams for Her Excellency Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada	Al Johnson greets Len Husband (University of Toronto Press)	Ruth Johnson greets guests

Al Johnson in the Press Over the Years

From the Regina Leader Post  •   September 17, 1952

From the Regina Leader Post  •  May 1, 2004