ABOUT THE BOOK:

My Pursuit of the Axis of Evil is about meetings and adventures with interesting people in Asia and Alaska. I followed the advice of a long-ago traveler named Pythagoras, who admonished us to check your prejudices at every port of entry." As a result, I mostly traveled solo, merged with the locals, and got to see, experience, and understand things that would not have been otherwise possible. Plus, the locals can keep you out of trouble and get you out of trouble if you get into it! In Alaska, I sought out native elders and others in the far corners of this enormous state, street people, and the many interesting and famous people visiting or passing through. And high-level politicians—often at the opposite end of the political and social issues spectrum than me. I learned a lot, made new friends, and often got to see things from a different perspective. Encounters were overwhelmingly positive, and it is these people to whom I dedicate My Pursuit of the Axis of Evil. I commend you for your natural curiosity and desire to go out into the world and see for yourself. Pursuit of the Axis of Evil is a great primer on how to engage and interact with the incredible variety of people we meet on international travel - people that appear on the surface to be very different from you and me. Robert DeLaurentis, Polar and Equitorial Circumnavigator/Citizen of the World. "

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bill Cox's favorite directions are west, north, and uphill. He grew up in New Jersey, transited to Michigan for undergrad, medical school, and residency before heading to Alaska in 1984. While backpacking through Europe in 1972, a seed for adventure was planted after Bill took off uphill in the Swiss Alps and met Hans, an old man who spent his summers high up in the Alps, in the shadow of the Jungfrau, where he made cheese. Bill says,\“I walked into a fairy tale.” That seed found fertile ground and sprouted in the Last Frontier known as Alaska—and even more so in the vast continent of Asia beckoning from just across the Pacific. Adventure called with 26 trips overseas which found him wandering across Siberia, Mongolia, India, and the smaller countries of Southeast Asia. From a sit-down meeting with the Dalai Lama in India to drinking gin with a member of the criminal mafia in the Russian Far East to coffee with a homeless street friend at an Anchorage, Alaska McDonalds, My Pursuit of the Axis of Evil will excite, educate, and exhilarate.

MY REVIEW:

My Pursuit of the Axis of Evil: And Other True Stories From Asia and Alaska by Bill Cox

Such a fun, entertaining, educational and political read.

What I love about this book are all the stories included. There is such a wide variety of subjects. There is something for everyone in this book.

Especially like the charity work the author coordinates with others to make miracles happen, getting donations for surgeries, lining up doctors to perform their magic and other expenses associated with getting the patient to the right place.

Other times he's out in nature, improving the land we live in, for the future. Again he has so many that he knows who to call on for help.

Love reading about nature hikes climbs, and fishing expeditions and what to use for bait. Yes some of the stories at comical at times. Some shocked me while the author was on a plane ride, during dinner. You can't make this stuff up!

Learned more about snow caves, island where sheep live and provide a means for the family to live there while sheep are tended to.

The locations and places experienced just bring tears to the corners of my eyes. Such a treasure to read about these places in our world.

There needs to be an appointment made by the government as the author is more than an ambassador. Imagine the places he'd go to next.

Hope author has other stories that didn't make the cut for this book and that he will come out with another in the series. The stories are too good to not hear about them all.

Style of writing I like, it's not girly, frilly but down to earth honest events that took place. Check the book out for yourself. You will NOT be disappointed.

This is one of my top 12 for this year!