First published in 1970, Silent Surrender helped educate a generation of students about Canadian political economy. Kari Levitt details the historical background of foreign investments in Canada, their acceleration since World War II, and the nature of intrusions by multinational corporations into a sovereign state. Silent Surrender was prophetic in predicting that the ultimate consequence of relinquishing control of the Canadian economy to United States business interests would be political disintegration through the balkanization of the country and its eventual piecemeal absorption into the American imperial system.

Republished with a new preface by noted scholar Mel Watkins and a postscript by the author, Silent Surrender's basic argument and underlying economic analysis remain remarkably fresh, particularly the question of whether cultural integration into continental American life has proceeded to a point where Canada is no longer a meaningful national community.