I´m saddened to learn of the recent death of Neil McAleer, whose expertise on the subject of the late futurist Arthur C. Clarke led to his becoming Clarke’s official biographer. I’ve learned that Neil died at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, on Oct. 30, 2022. Neil was my friend and professional literary partner, having found me about 2004 through my own online efforts in praise of Clarke. Neil was seeking research-and-writing assistance to update his original 1992 biography of Clarke. Our joint effort ultimately became the final authorized biography of the late science/sci-fi writer, who passed in 2008.
Although Neil and I worked chiefly by email, the collaboration led to an enthusiastic friendship aided by my East Coast presence; we frequently lunched in Baltimore and met for gatherings of the Clarke Foundation in Washington, D.C. On these latter occasions we both were thrilled to meet and chat with Walter Cronkite and other notables associated with Clarke - including a brief electronic exchange with Neil Armstrong.
Over the course of our work, I became the manuscript’s editor and contributed a considerable amount of text, including one essential chapter. After publication of "Visionary: The Odyssey of Arthur C. Clarke” a decade ago, Neil and I shared friendly contacts for a few years, but those became less frequent. Our work was absorbing, occasionally exasperating but ultimately rewarding professionally and emotionally. I look back in it with pride and affection, knowing that my life was bettered by my having known this exceptional man.
Here is the link to Neil’s Baltimore Sun obituary - https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/baltimoresun/name/james-mcaleer-obituary?id=38289055
