Leaving the Past Behind concludes Patrick O'Flaherty's three-volume narrative history of Newfoundland. The book begins with the inauguration of Commission of Government, an oligarchy appointed by Britain after Newfoundland's elected leaders, in 1933, lost their nerve and asked the "mother country" to step in and take over their affairs. The British, well schooled in colonial administration, were only too happy to oblige. The system of direct rule lasted fifteen years, during which Newfoundland played a key role in the Battle of the Atlantic and a part too in the invasion of Europe after D-Day and other war service overseas. Canadian and American soldiers, sailors, and airmen stationed in the country from 1940-45 had a big impact on the economy and society. At war's end the people had to choose the form of government they wanted. After long debate in a National Convention (1946-48) and in the public media, they decided by referendum to jettison their history as an independent country and become a Canadian province. O'Flaherty makes this debate and the extraordinary decision that followed it the centerpiece of his book.
