Background

David Spanier was born on 30th April, 1932 in Hamstead, north London, United Kingdom. The son of a stockjobber, Spanier grew up among a prosperous liberal Jewish family.

Education

David Spanier was firstly educated at Charterhouse School, London.

After national service in the army, which he loathed, went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied under Frank Raymond Leavis and played a little unserious cricket.

Career

David acquired some work experience with the Yorkshire Post, and it was there where he started his work after completing his degree at Cambridge.

In 1957, he moved to the Times, where he was to remain for the next 25 years. After four years, he transferred to the foreign department as commonwealth correspondent, and he remained an international expert, except for a brief interval as assistant city editor. Some friends believe he was disappointed not to become deputy city editor, with the possibility of preferment to the top job. Spanier was a journalist who covered diplomacy issues for the London Times from 1973 to 1982.

Unlike many of his colleagues, Spanier did not leave immediately after the Murdoch takeover of the Times. But, in early 1982, he took a job as diplomatic correspondent for the London-based news radio station LBC (London Broadcasting Company) and Independent Radio News.

Later, Spanier became chess correspondent of the short-lived newspaper Today, and then of the Daily Telegraph.

In 1997 he started a weekly column in the Independent.

The Spanier's final article appeared in the Financial Times soon after his sudden death.

Achievements

• David Spanier became the paper's first Common Market correspondent in 1961.
  
  In 1997 David Spanier became the world's first national newspaper Poker Correspondent.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Inside the Gambler's Mind

    (Inside the Gambler's Mind is a thoughtful overview of the...)

    1994
  • The Little Book of Poker

    (This outstanding selection of writings from the first reg...)

    1998
  • Welcome to the Pleasuredome: Inside Las Vegas

    (Briefly traces the history of Las Vegas, describes the pe...)

    1992
  • Total Poker

    (Winning at poker is not just analysis, clever tactics, no...)

    1977
  • Pocket Guide to Gambling

    (This little book is a must for anyone who wants to know t...)

    1980
  • The Hand I Played

    (An outstanding autobiography of the well-known journalist...)

    2000
  • Europe, our Europe

    (European Economic Community - Great Britain. European Eco...)

    1972
  • Easy Money: Inside the Gamblers Mind

    (Easy Money is easy reading. Spanier brings his book to li...)

    1988
  • All Right, OK, You Win 1992
  • Total Chess 1984

Religion

Though David Spanier was not especially religious, his choice of the names of his sons (Gideon, Joshua and Samson) reflected his deep pride in being Jewish.

Membership

• 

  Spanier was a former council member of the Liberal Jewish Sinagogue.

  Liberal Jewish Sinagogue , England

Personality

Spanier kept his feelings to himself. He was, in general, a tolerant and self-possessed man, whose favourite way of making a point was with dry wit. David hid an exceedingly sharp mind behind horn-rimmed spectacles and a jaunty, self-deprecating and friendly manner. He described himself as a good European, but his worldly-wise intelligence and his preference for reporting, as opposed to advocacy, kept him a sceptical one. David was extremely fond off gambling. To the end of his life, he gambled heavily, regularly - and, on the whole, successfully. He had a gaming room installed in his home, where he sometimes played poker all night with fellow devotees. His poker, on the other hand, was, from the start, deadly serious. He joked about how in one game he came close to losing his allowance for the whole term; at the time, it can hardly have been very funny.

Interests

• gambling, poker, chess

Connections

It was at the Times that Spanier met the distinguished award-winning fashion journalist and author Suzy Peta Menkes, and they married in 1969. Their marriage was exceptionally loving and strong, and David did a great deal to make Suzy's career flourish. They had three sons, Gideon, Joshua and Samson, as well as a daughter, Jessica, who died in infancy.

Wife:

Suzy Peta Menkes

Suzy Menkes, a British journalist, a fashion critic and an author. She is also the currently International Editor for twenty one International Editions of Vogue.

Son:

Gideon Spanier

Gideon Spanier is now the new Editor-in-chief of Campaign magazine.

Son:

Joshua Spanier

Son:

Samson Spanier

Samson Spanier is a litigation and dispute resolution lawyer based in London. Samson's practice focuses on all aspects of banking and finance disputes, in particular concerning derivatives, debt capital markets, commodities and trade finance, Islamic finance, syndicated lending, sovereign debt, and civil fraud in financial services.

As part of this practice, Samson also advises on blockchain/distributed ledger technology, the insolvency of financial services firms, court proceedings in support of arbitrations, jurisdiction disputes and the conflict of laws.

Friend:

Anthony Holden

Friend:

Al Alvarez