A Book Review – ‘The Sett’ by Ranulph Fiennes

A book review of ‘The Sett’ by Ranulph Fiennes. Published in 1996 by William Heinemann. London.

This incredible biography leaves the reader wondering ‘could this really be true?’ This archetypal and affable 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 irrevocably changed on the afternoon of July 29, 1984, as he walked through the woods with his wife and daughter. After witnessing the horrific slaughter of a badger, he is savagely beaten and no one notices 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 cruel murders of his wife and daughter. The search for the murderers of his family finally takes nine years.

Since regaining his memory, Alex Goodman is thrown into the world of the now-defunct, but notorious Bank of Credit and International Trade (BCCI), the CIA, and the White House. He faces drug dealers, illegal human organ traders, disgusting badger baits, as well as murderers, using torture and extreme violence as a way of life. Is it possible that these events actually happen to a quiet and familiar white-collar worker, who after reading ‘The Feather Men’, approached the author in the hope that he would be told his own story? Alex Goodman knew 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 manufacturing gang calling itself ‘La Familia’, US government agents approached him to infiltrate the BCCI, as an employee, to gain access to the information necessary to bring down the bank.

Alex Goodman uncovered corruption on a massive scale involving the CIA, the White House, the systematic kidnapping and murder of South American children to obtain human organs for sale 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 by authentic documentation. This attention to detail is a hallmark of Fiennes’s writing and the reader will not be disappointed.

Goodman finds love again, but the union is short-lived. He befriends a prostitute, who after a while feels empathy for this strange man who has appeared in her life, and learns to love again. She gives birth to him a son, but Goodman’s tragedy is compounded when they both die while he hunts the murderer of his first family. Time and time again, Goodman has escaped the revenge of the murderers he hunts, only to find that the friends and acquaintances he has made on this incredible quest are killed.

‘The Sett’ is, without a doubt, one of the best books I have read. This ‘tour de force’ story evokes many emotions. The cruelty involved in the badger killings was almost unreadable. Many times I thought I could not continue, but the compelling story made me regress each time. All animal lovers and animal liberationists 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 indeed this story leaves you wondering, how can an ordinary man get caught up in the whirlwind of violence and intrigue that gripped Alex Goodman? As they say “You wouldn’t read about it!”

Not only is Sir Ranulph Fiennes an accomplished author, he was also awarded the ‘Order of the British Empire’ from Her Majesty the Queen in 1993 for his efforts to raise £ 14 million for charity. He was named ‘Best Athlete’ at the 2007 ITV Great Britain Awards and in 2009 became the oldest British citizen to successfully summit Mount Everest. These accolades pale to insignificance when viewed in light of the trials and tribulations of Alex Goodman, a simple common man who only sought justice for the wrongs perpetrated against him by the evil men who lurk in the shadows of the world.