For almost fifty years Joseph Howe was at or near the centre of public affairs, first in Nova Scotia and later in imperial relations and in the earliest years of the new Dominion. He was his province's most articulate spokesman as well as its leading politician and publicist and was pre-eminent in the struggle for responsible government, the introduction of railroads, opposition to Confederation, and in a quixotic advocacy of imperial federation.

on a variety of records including Howe's private papers and the vigourous provincial press of his day, Beck places Howe firmly in the political, social, and intellectual life of colonial Nova Scotia, assessing his contributions to that society and revealing the breadth of both his vision and his influence.