Many years ago our gang would meet and just talk. This was a typical New York City gang of 12 -14 year olds talking about what they wanted do when they grew up. I was the only one to talk about travel to "Those Faraway Places". This book is the result of 25 years of travel, to about 105 countries, with anecdotal discussions of specific events. The book is written as travel experience and not an in depth analysis of the country, although some background for each country is included; South Africa, Brazil, Peru, much of South America. Indonesia, Tahiti, and more.
About the Author: The author was born and raised in a slum area in lower Manhattan in New York City, and another slum called Ravenswood, in Queens. This was the heyday of the mafia and crime syndicates. One could not live in these slums without being touched by the mafia. After leaving Ravenswood, the Author went to Brooklyn Tech High School from which he graduated with honors. After a hitch in the army and Korea, he finally got to college. The author is a graduate from the University of Maryland with degrees in electrical engineering and math. He completed post graduate work in biomedical studies at the University of Michigan. While at Johns Hopkins, the author worked in the early missile programs, Terrier, Tarter, and Talos. With the cold war in full swing, and the launching of Sputnik satellite by Russia, he joined the satellite tracking team which led to the development of the top secret "Global Positioning System", ultimately becoming the GPS systems we all use today. He then joined the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research to start a biomedical engineering department while carrying out his own research programs. Most notable of his research was a treatment and cure, in some cases, for Parkinson's disease. Other programs included single cell studies, and the development of a histogram analyzer and several other instruments, which naturally led to digital computers. Digital computers were only then (about 1963) coming to the forefront. He developed several digital computers for specific applications. After retirement he became a caregiver for his parents, and immediately thereafter dove into travel, visiting about 105 countries around the globe. These included Machu Pichu, Peru, canoeing up the Amazon, in depth hunting (with a camera) in 5 countries of Africa, Cruise up the Yangtze River in China, exploration of South America, and Antarctica, and more.