A review of the book ‘The Sett’ by Ranulph Fiennes. Published in 1996 by William Heinemann. London.
This amazing biography leaves the reader thinking ‘could this really be true?’ This archetypal, mild-mannered man named Alex Goodman (not his real name), should surely be the hero of the next action-packed blockbuster. An accountant by profession, his life changes irrevocably on the afternoon of July 29, 1984, while he walks through the woods with his wife and his daughter. After witnessing a horrendous slaughter of badgers, he is savagely beaten and unaware when he wakes up in a Birmingham hospital, suffering from traumatic amnesia. The following year, his memory gradually returns and what unfolds are fascinating ‘cat and nine lives’ scenarios as he seeks revenge for the callous murders of his wife and daughter. The search for the murderers of his family finally takes nine years.
Since regaining his memory, Alex Goodman finds himself immersed in the world of the now-defunct but notorious Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), the CIA and the White House. He takes on drug dealers, illegal human organ traffickers, disgusting badger hunters, as well as murderers, using torture and extreme violence as a way of life. Could these events really happen to a quiet, family-oriented white-collar worker, who after reading ‘The Feather Men’, approached the author hoping that he would tell his own story? Alex Goodman knew that he was dying. He wanted his story published. His determined motivation to avenge the death of his family is commendable. After being taken in and accepted by a criminal drug and manufacturing gang calling itself ‘The Family’, he was approached by US government agents to infiltrate BCCI, as an employee to gain access to information needed to bring down the Bank. .
Alex Goodman uncovered large-scale corruption involving the CIA, the White House, the systematic kidnapping and murder of South American children for human organs to sell on the black market, and the operation of ethnic gangs within the United States and Britain. . Readers of this book will be intrigued by the detailed account of the events that take place. Throughout the book, the events, names, and places have been meticulously researched and supported with authentic documentation. This attention to detail is a hallmark of Fiennes’s writing and the reader will not be disappointed.
Goodman DOES FIND LOVE Once again, but the union is short-lived. He befriends a prostitute, who after a while empathizes with this strange man who has appeared in her life, and learns to love again. She bears him a son, but Goodman’s tragedy is compounded when they both die while he hunts down the killer of his first family. Time and time again, Goodman has escaped the revenge of the killers he is after, only to find that the friends and acquaintances he has made on this incredible quest are murdered.
‘The Sett’ is, without a doubt, one of the best books I have ever read. This ‘Tour de Force’ story evokes many emotions. The cruelty involved in the slaughter of badgers was almost unreadable. Many times I thought I couldn’t go on, but the compelling story pulled me in every time. All animal lovers and animal liberation advocates will find these chapters difficult to digest and accept. The combination of violence, murder, and edge-of-your-seat scenarios make this book impossible to put down. Some readers may question the veracity of this book, and in fact, this story leaves you wondering, how can a normal everyman get caught up in the whirlwind of violence and intrigue that descended on Alex Goodman? As they say “You wouldn’t read about that!”
Sir Ranulph Fiennes is not only an accomplished author, but was also awarded the ‘Order of the British Empire’ by Her Majesty The Queen in 1993 for his efforts to raise £14m for charity. He was named ‘Best Sportsman’ at the 2007 ITV Great Britain Awards and in 2009 he became the oldest British citizen to successfully reach the summit of Mount Everest. These gadgets pale into insignificance when viewed in light of the trials and tribulations of Alex Goodman, a mere common man who only sought justice for the wrongs perpetrated against him by evil men who lurk in the shadows of the world.
