The Story of a Lucky Duck

This charming little story breaks the autobiography mold. Technically it's the childhood account of a third-culture American kid and his adventures and exploits growing up all over the world in the 1950s and '60s. The book will transport you from Australia to Africa, from Brazil to Israel, from Europe to the Far East. But it's not just a travelogue or a dry where-I-was-born sleeper. It's part adventure--it's about surfing in Africa and sailing in Rio de Janeiro. It's a Buddhist parable about the responsibilities of power and African lessons about the power of belief. It's a childhood love story. It's a new perspective on the evils of apartheid and the oppression that took its place and that still mars the beauty of a magnificent country. It's a story of cultures and geopolitics. It's the backstory about how a few courageous Norwegians defeated Nazi plans for a German atom bomb.

It's part the rant of a funny, irreverent, iconoclastic, opinionated old curmudgeon, perhaps occasionally thought-provoking. It's a window into the insights that wide travels and an open mind can bring.

It's also a story about family and the importance of real family values and of developing a sense of place in the world. The book is interlaced with stories and anecdotes about the author's own forebears and pioneer ancestors and the roles they played in shaping the expansion and development of the American West. It's a little known slice of Texas history and of the founding of places like Dallas and Fort Worth. It's a story of lone-star gypsies that will give you new perspectives on life and death, how to live it to the fullest, and maybe even how to avoid fearing the mysteries at the end of one's existence.