LIVING THE PART: JOHN DRAINIE AND THE DILEMMA OF CANADIAN STARDOM. Drainie, Bronwyn. Toronto, Macmillan. 1988. 369pp, cloth. $27.95, ISBN 0-7715-9918-8. CIP Grades 11 and up Reviewed by Louise Griffith Volume 17 Number 1 1989 January In Living the Part, Bronwyn Drainie, herself a prize-winning broadcaster, gives us a detailed and intimate view of her famous father, John Drainie, one of Canada's greatest actors. In the course of her very thorough research, the author examined the details of early Canadian radio, theatre and television. Her book is really a close look at the early days of drama in Canada, especially in Vancouver and Toronto. She also outlines her own views on the many ways in which the problems in the CBC and the theatre still exist. The book is much more than a biography and appreciation of one of our great actors. It goes into the whole history of the development of radio and TV, in which Drainie played so vital a role. Yet the scholarly and objective note is somewhat at variance with the constant references to "my father" and the relating of some details usually best known only to family members. Drainie's book should be purchased for high school, college and public libraries. Theatre goers of twenty years or more standing will enjoy tidbits of gossip about "Spring Thaw" and its contemporaries. Students of theatre will find this a gold mine of information made accessible by an index and bibliography. Perhaps Bronwyn Drainie's critical comments will be considered as valuable as those of Nathan Cohen, a critic whose work she scorns. The volume is an interesting and sincere tribute to a great Canadian, a source of historical information, and a criticism of current drama practices. Louise Griffith, Agincourt, Ont.