A first-hand account of international trade as it was really done.
This book documents nearly sixty years spent working across global markets—long before digital communication transformed the way business is conducted. It is not a guidebook or a memoir in the traditional sense, but a factual record of experiences gained through exporting, licensing, manufacturing, government secondment and overseas living.
From Europe to the Middle East, Africa, East Asia, Australasia and the Caribbean, the author worked with private companies, government departments, chambers of commerce and foreign ministries. He helped establish licensed manufacturing operations, negotiated technology transfers, led and supported trade missions, and later advised British companies seeking to enter complex overseas markets—particularly South Korea.
The narrative moves chronologically through real events: rebuilding projects after conflict, cultural misunderstandings, commercial successes and failures, life inside embassies and factories, and the personal cost of a career spent largely on the road. Nothing is fictionalised, and very little is embellished.
This book will appeal to readers interested in:
- International trade and exporting
- Economic and commercial history
- Life and work overseas
- The realities behind globalisation
- How business was conducted before the digital age
Written with restraint and clarity, this is a documentary-style account of one individual’s working life—set against the broader changes that reshaped global trade over half a century.