Conrad Black: An Ambassador From an Unhurried Era: A Salute to the Brilliant Rex Murphy

Commentary When I heard the news of the death of Rex Murphy, not unexpected but so hard to accept, my first thoughts were of how much I would miss his kindnesses. We loaned or gave each other books and extensive reviews of books. Rex was meticulously courteous, an ambassador in our midst from an unhurried era when people took the trouble to notice, to say what they intended to say, without impatience or excessive verbosity. He communicated with his readers and with the public he randomly encountered, and began all relationships, no matter how fleeting or coincidental, with the belief that the person he was meeting had something to say worth hearing. He was without prejudice of any kind and was never too old to learn....