The Canadian Senate in Bicameral Perspective, David E. Smith, Toronto, Buffalo and London: University of Toronto Press, 2003, pp. xii, 263

No Canadian political institution endures the simplistic judgments and the uninformed rhetoric that the Senate engenders. The antidote is now at hand. David Smith's superlative book brings to bear on this much-maligned body a comparative framework, a detailed familiarity with the institution and—most especially—a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of governance in this country. The result is an analytic tour de force that will give pause to even the most jaded Senate-basher or the most zealous proponent of Senate reform.