Alistair McAlpine (1942–2014)

Although it titled "Memoirs" this book is quite selective - a little bit of his childhood and young adulthood, some of his collecting and art phase, a large section on his time in Broome and Australia, and a similarly large section on his time as Treasurer of the Conservative Party in the Thatcher era.
The story is well told and a picture emerges of an engaging man with a restless curiosity about life and people.
He was born into great wealth and had a seriously privileged upbringing, and was soon spending vast amounts of money collecting art, antiques and books. But while the reader might be preparing to pigeon-hole McAlpine as a rich kid doing what rich kids can do, he somehow gets away with it, and becomes a likeable character.
For me, the story of his time in Broome was important in that change of perception. I knew of him in Broome around that time, and I know, or know of, many of the people he talks about in Broome. He made his mark on Broome, but in a way that left him many more friends than enemies. He comes across as very down to earth, and my knowledge of the people he mixed with reinforces that feeling.
Of course, at the end, I still can't understand his affection for Margaret Thatcher, but, as he makes clear throughout the book, people are different.
Read October 2013… (mehr)