The History of Boomers — As Told by Patrick Alexander

Born in the United Kingdom in 1946, Patrick Alexander may be one of the Gables’ most interesting residents. He’s lived in France and Switzerland working as an international finance advisor, backpacked across the U.S. and Mexico, and, along with his then-girlfriend, been voted “London’s Coolest Couple” in 1967.

In the ‘80s, Alexander moved to the Gables, where he worked for two corporations and then at the University of Miami until his retirement in 2006. Now, he keeps busy by working at the Coral Gables Museum and the Granada Golf Course, though he spends most of his time writing. He’s written numerous books, including his latest: “Boomer,” a history of the Baby Boomer generation.

Author Patrick Alexander at the Granada Golf Course with his latest book “Boomer.”

Latest Achievement

This past December 15, Alexander’s “Boomer” was released as an audiobook on Audible, narrated by Dr. Jack Wynters. It’s also available as an e-book and in paperback in the U.S., France, Spain, Canada, and the UK.

Alexander has written many other works besides, including two studies of the French writer Marcel Proust, a book on wine appreciation, a true-crime book about Miami murders (including four in Coral Gables), a history of Miami called “Building Paradise,” and four novels, three of which are set in the Gables. His latest project is recording them all for auditory consumption.

What He Says

“I was born in Portsmouth, the headquarters of the British Navy. At that particular moment in time [we were] the biggest empire the world had ever known ruled. [But] for the next 20 or 30 years, it was just a succession of the empire getting smaller and smaller. Today, England is just a small island off the coast of Europe,” Alexander says.

“And then, halfway through my life, we came to America. It was a very optimistic place. Everyone was friendly, everyone exchanged ideas. Now, we’ve reached a stage where we can barely talk to each other and we’re all terrified of the next election. So, that’s another 30-year period. I wanted to study that. Why has that happened? What made it happen?”

Looking for more local authors? Check out Novels in the Gables by William Castaño-Bedoya