'Happy' Norman, Volume IV (1989-1998)

Book excerpt: Volume IV of Keith Norman’s expansive and absorbing life story takes readers through the period 1989 –1998. Keith is already in his sixties, an age when most of us are thinking about slowing down, but Keith, if anything, is speeding up! This period of Keith’s life encompasses profound personal events and challenging business dealings. He faces the trauma of cancer, contracted by his wife and soulmate, Claire, which they must face together, in the midst of a punishing schedule, as well as the joys of discovering not one but two long-lost daughters. Keith’s consultancy business, Norman International, takes him around the globe, from China to Russia to the USA and from the UK to Africa, as he pursues various public and private ventures: the formation of a golfing equipment franchise, Nevada Bob, in the UK; the raising of a fleet of old WWII German submarine fleet; a program for the training of African business managers, and the creation of development funds for the newly emerging independent republics of the former Soviet Union alongside international financial institutions, the World Bank (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). These are just some of the exciting ventures recounted in this latest volume. They are interspersed with personal anecdotes about family and friends, which demonstrate Keith’s innate love of life and consuming curiosity to experience all that it has to offer. Readers will continue to benefit from Keith’s honest appraisal of his own actions and decisions as well as the actions and motivations of others with whom he must deal. Settle in, buckle up, and enjoy the ride!