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To rise from humble beginnings in the Potteries to become a hugely
successful barrister involved in many high profile cases would be
enough to satisfy the ambitions of many. But Bob Alexander's life
took him from the law to be chairman of the Takeover Panel and the
NatWest Bank at a critical time when the impact of 'Big Bang'
demanded huge changes from many staid financial institutions. Add
to that his passion for cricket which led to him being elected
chairman of the MCC, and his chairmanship of the Royal Shakespeare
Company, and his elevation to the peerage, and you have the
extraordinarily full life of a man who rose to the very top of the
British establishment. What distinguishes these memoirs from many
is the candour with which Lord Alexander describes his wealth of
experiences. His accounts of his famous cases - GCHQ, Ken
Livingstone, 'Spycatcher,' the Summerfields Fire, Jeffrey Archer -
are masterpieces of clarity and concision. But he is never afraid
to express his opinions of people and events - and this is
particularly so when he describes his efforts to reform the NatWest
Bank. His account will surely be of great value to financial
historians for years to come. Behind this remarkable success there
is a continuing modesty and an openness to argument and opinion,
characteristics that made him such a revered and popular figure in
so many different worlds. Lord Alexander, who died in 2005 before
he was able to complete his memoir, has left us a vivid and
revealing personal account of a brilliant career. His wisdom,
kindness and mastery of the law touched the lives of so many.
Authors Bob Alexander and Donaly E. Brice grappled with several
issues when deciding how to relate a general history of the Texas
Rangers. Should emphasis be placed on their frontier defense
against Indians, or focus more on their role as guardians of the
peace and statewide law enforcers? What about the tumultuous
Mexican Revolution period, 1910–1920? And how to deal with myths
and legends such as One Riot, One Ranger? Texas Rangers: Lives,
Legend, and Legacy is the authors’ answer to these questions, a
one-volume history of the Texas Rangers. The authors begin with the
earliest Rangers in the pre-Republic years in 1823 and take the
story up through the Republic, Mexican War, and Civil War. Then,
with the advent of the Frontier Battalion, the authors focus in
detail on each company A through F, relating what was happening
within each company concurrently. Thereafter, Alexander and Brice
tell the famous episodes of the Rangers that forged their legend,
and bring the story up through the twentieth century to the present
day in the final chapters.
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