Expect Miracles: Recollections of a Lucky Life

Expect Miracles is the personal and professional story of a leader in the worlds of business and culture. David Culver narrates his journey from his upbringing in Montreal's Golden Square Mile, through his studies at McGill and Harvard, his army service during the Second World War, to his impressive rise at Alcan to become chairman and chief executive officer of one of Canada's leading multinational corporations. The memoir provides an inside look into the management of a global company with roots deeply planted in Quebec and offers pragmatic advice on how to grow talent, foster technology, and handle adversity in a far-flung organization. Anecdotes of meeting the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger, and Jawaharlal Nehru, reveal the experiences of a strong corporate leader who continued to live a Montreal life, while never losing his interest in discovering the world. A man of many interests and talents, Culver reflects on his long love affair with architecture - and his efforts to restore and preserve Montreal's heritage by creating Maison Alcan - and how music and sport helped shape his life. Expect Miracles is evidence of Culver's positive outlook and belief that the most extraordinary things can happen when you least expect them.

David M. Culver is the former chairman and CEO of Alcan Aluminium. Alan Freeman, a native of Montreal, is an Ottawa-based writer who has worked for the Canadian Press, the Wall Street Journal, and the Globe and Mail.