This is an unedited draft of a book in which Alexander set out to give 'a personal account of my contacts with universities in the developing countries of the Commonwealth.'
It begins with the background of Alexander’s own university education at Auckland, Cambridge and London; describes Raffles College and the University of Malaya; and his work at the University of Ibadan and the contribution of its Physics Department during the International Geophysical Year 1957-58. Considerable attention is devoted to the formation of Ahamadu Bello University. Alexander also discusses his role as an advisor to the Nigerian College of Arts and Science and Technology, the Universities of the South Pacific, the West Indies, and the federal university of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. He concludes with missions to universities in Mauritius, Zambia, Ghana, India and Sri Lanka.