The series consists of the manuscripts of the books published in his lifetime: Philosophy in the Mass Age (1959), Lament for a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism (1965), Technology and Empire: Perspectives on North America (1969), Time as History (1971), English-Speaking Justice (1978), and Technology and Justice (1986). The files generally hold manuscripts and drafts of chapters, correspondence with publishers and editors, reviews and response from readers, and material related to reprints and new editions. Philosophy in the Mass Age is represented only by a few reviews and material for the 1966 reprint. The records of Lament for a Nation include the original draft and two subsequent typescript drafts. It includes publisher correspondence with McClelland and Stewart and Carleton University Press, including letters from John Robert Colombo, Jack McClelland, and James Marsh. There are also letters of support from readers Farley Mowat, Hugh MacLennan, Eugene Forsey, Douglas Fisher, and Gad Horowitz, among others, and detailed review essays by Horowitz, Rodney Crook, and Kenneth McNaught. It was reviewed in academic journals, magazines, newspapers, and foreign publications, including reviews by Peter C. Newman, Mordecai Richler, W. L. Morton, and Robert Fulford, among others.
The files for Technology and Empire, his first book with Anansi Press, includes drafts of chapters and correspondence with editor Dennis Lee, reviews, and interviews. Fifty notable Canadians signed a letter protesting its absence from the shortlist for the 1969 Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction. Time as History (1971) began life as the 1969 CBC Massey Lectures, and its records comprise drafts of the lectures and early drafts of chapters for publication. They include correspondence with Janet Somerville of CBC Ideas about the lectures, publicity, and response from listeners. The files relating to English-Speaking Justice (1978) reflect its transition from the 1974 Josiah Wood lectures, "English-speaking liberalism and technique", at Mount Allison into published book. They include drafts of the lectures and manuscripts, some annotated by Lee, and letters from Arthur Motyer, Dean of Arts at Mount Allison. There is also correspondence with Anansi Press and reviews of the US edition, published by Notre Dame University Press in 1985. Technology and Justice is represented by drafts of the essays, which went through considerable revision for the book. The chapters on abortion and euthanasia were co-written with Sheila Grant who wrote first drafts that Grant later edited.