THE STRANGEST DREAM: CANADIAN COMMUNISTS, THE SPY TRIALS, AND THE COLD WAR Merrily Weisbord. Toronto, Lester & Orpen Dennys, c1983. 255pp, cloth, $18.95. ISBN 0-88619-029-0. Grades 11 and up. Reviewed by Louise Dick. Volume 12 Number 3 1984 May The 1981 release of evidence taken in secret by the 1946 Royal Commission on Soviet espionage, including the evidence of Gouzenko, has resulted in a number of books on related topics. Parliamentary debates on a proposed new security agency have also deepened public discussion of national security and civil liberties. (Ian Adams's S: Portrait of A Spy (Gage, 1977) had already raised the question of possible "laundering" of Commission documents.) Weisbord,recreates communist activity in Canada from the viewpoint of dedicated members of the Canadian communist community. This could be a fascinating contrast to more objective works such as Bothwell and Granatstein's presentation of The Gouzenko Transcripts (Deneau, 1982). Weisbord grew up in the milieu which she describes: "I was fourteen when Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin (1946) ended my parents' commitment to the Communist Party. ..." A clever combination of vignettes of individuals from varied backgrounds who "chose to be communists" with narration of the development of the Party gives a sense of immediacy. Vivid style and strong involvement with events and personalities heighten the realism and drama in the story of Fred Rose and his circle. Initial skill is unfortunately not maintained. Personal bias makes Weisbord's description of the war years and 1946 "spy trials" almost a polemic. "Disillusionment" with Soviet leadership gradually gives rise to a personal sense of the value of communism ("my legacy"), and The Strangest Dream becomes a manifesto rather than the useful factual account it might have been. Eight pages of black-and-white photographs depict some of the book's personalities. A bibliography lists selected books, pamphlets, and documents. Louise Dick, Branksome Hall School, Toronto, ON.