Part memoir, part history, The Worst and Best of the Premiers and Some We Never Had is Bill Rowe's most ambitious work of non-fiction to date. The book observes with a critical and humorous eye the landscape of Newfoundland and Labrador politics since Confederation in 1949.
Forty-two leaders are presented here, of all political stripes. Bill Rowe, with his inimitable style, examines the professional lives of each leader—from Chesley A. Crosbie in the 1940s to Dwight Ball, present-day premier of the province—and grades them based on accomplishment during their time in public life.
Bill Rowe is a national bestselling author and former MHA and minister in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and he was a long-time host of Open Line, a popular radio talk show. His books Danny Williams: The War With Ottawa and The Premiers Joey and Frank: Greed, Power, and Lust have appeared on the Globe and Mail bestsellers lists. His non-fiction works have also appeared on the annual best books lists of the Hill Times in Ottawa.

Born in Newfoundland, Bill Rowe graduated in English from Memorial University and attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, obtaining an Honours M.A. in law.Elected five times to the House of Assembly, Rowe served as a minister in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and as leader of the Official Opposition. He practised law in St. John’s for many years and has been a long-time public affairs commentator, appearing regularly on national and local television, as well as hosting a daily radio call-in show on VOCM and writing weekly newspaper columns.Rowe has written nine books: Clapp’s Rock, a bestselling novel published by McClelland & Stewart and serialized on CBC national radio; The Temptation of Victor Galanti, a second novel published by McClelland & Stewart; a volume of essays on politics and public affairs published by Jesperson Press of St. John’s; the critically acclaimed political memoir Danny Williams: The War With Ottawa, which appeared on the Globe and Mail’s bestsellers list in 2010; Danny Williams, Please Come Back, a collection of newspaper articles covering social, political, and economic issues; Rosie O’Dell, a critically acclaimed crime novel published by Pennywell Books, a literary imprint of Flanker Press; The Premiers Joey and Frank, which was a Globe and Mail bestseller in 2013, and which the Hill Times selected as one of the Best 100 Books in Politics, Public Policy, and History in 2013; The Monster of Twenty Mile Pond, the much-loved novel of a legendary monster who engulfed the lives of two teenaged girls; and now The True Confessions of a Badly Misunderstood Dog, a fictionalized account of the frantic years when a Labrador retriever and two cats lived with the author’s family.Rowe is a member of the Writers’ Union of Canada and has served on the executive of the Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador. He is married to Penelope Ayre Rowe CM of St. John’s. They have a son, Dorian, a daughter, Toby, and three grandchildren, Rowan, Elizabeth, and Phoebe.

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