Mr. Alef has written many legal articles, one law book, one historical anthology, Centennial Stories, and authored the award-winning historical novel, Pale Truth (MaxIt Publishing, 2000). Pale Truth received many outstanding reviews including ones from Publishers Weekly and the American Library Association’s Booklist. A sequel to Pale Truth, currently entitled Measured Swords, has recently been completed.

He began writing Titans of Fortune, biographical profiles of America’s great moguls, in April 2003. His experience as a lawyer, CEO of a public company, a rancher, and author, combined with his academic background—UCLA (B.S.), UCLA Law School (J.D.), the London School of Economics and Political Science (LL.M.), and Cambridge University (post-graduate studies)—gives him the perception to analyze the powerful titans and their achievements, and to place their lives and triumphs in a larger perspective.

In 2007 he began to write a second column, Great American Fortunes, essentially a snapshot of the longer profiles contained in Titans of Fortune.

Titans of Fortune first appeared in the Santa Barbara News Press in 2003, and has appeared in several Knight Ridder papers. Great American Fortunes is currently syndicated in several Lee Newspapers.

Mr. Alef has a one-hour radio show based on the Titans of Fortune column. It can be heard on KZSB, 1290AM in Santa Barbara or on podcasts from the station every other Friday at 9 a.m. To hear a podcast of these shows, please click on the following link: http://www.newspress.com/Top/sbnp_radio/radio.html

Mr. Alef serves on the Board of Trustees of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum and on the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Activities League. He is a black belt in judo and one of the head instructors of the University of California at Santa Barbara Judo Club. He lives with his family in Santa Barbara.