I should like to thank all those who so generously helped me to prepare this volume in honour of Alice Teichova, and in particular the many colleagues and friends who contributed to and supported ‘AT80’, the appreciation symposium organised by the Business History Unit and held at the London School of Economics in September 2000. The support of sponsors was itself a tribute to Alice's international reputation. I should like to thank the Austrian Embassy in London, the British Academy, ING-Barings and the European Association for Banking History for their assistance. A number of people worked behind the scenes to ensure that the event, and its aftermath, the preparation of a volume for publication, were a success. I owe a particular debt to Alice's husband, Mikuláš, who encouraged and supported me at all stages. Sonia Copeland organised the symposium with characteristic warmth and efficiency, and Francis Goodall offered me his considerable skills in copy-editing and proof-reading. Last, but certainly not least, Bill Davies at Cambridge University Press tried to keep the project and its editor on a steady course. Responsibility for the final product, is, of course, mine.

The academic career of Alice Teichova, celebrated in this volume, has been both eclectic and yet systematic. Her historical writings have progressed logically in seamless vein from the dynamics of international capitalism and cartel-building to the impact of multi-national enterprise, the significance of universal banking, and issues of economic integration and nationality.