Either God is alive, in which case he'll deal with us as he sees fit. Or he is dead, in which case he was never alive, it being unlikely that he died of old age.

It includes Baraka or The Lives Fortunes and Sacred Honor of Anthony Smith The Next Best Thing and The Paradise Eater which won the Premio Letterario Internazionale in Italy. In the same vein he criticizes both those in the Quebec separatist Montreal School for emphasizing the conflicts in Canadian history and the Orange Order and the Clear Grits traditionally seeking clear definitions of Canadian-ness and loyalty. Out of this time came his novels The Field Trilogy.

As an essayist Saul is particularly known for his commentaries on the nature of individualism citizenship and the public good; the failures of manager-led societies; the confusion between leadership and managerialism; military strategy in particular irregular warfare; the role of freedom of speech and culture; and his critique of contemporary economic arguments. John Ralston Saul CC (born June 19 1947) is a Canadian author essayist and President of PEN International.