I am the author of the forthcoming revisionist, non-fiction history, of the the voyages of Henry Hudson, entitled "Henry Hudson and the Bastard Map." I have authored articles on early cartography of North America, for a number of specialist magazines, including "Mercator's World," "The Explorers Journal," and the Canadian National Historical Society's bi-monthly, previously named "The Beaver," and "The Portolan." All of this work was predicated upon a series of airborne expeditions which I conducted in Arctic and Sub Arctic Canada, and the evidence that those expeditions provided. Those Expeditions were in part funded by Rolex Watch USA, TRW Corporation, Eastman Kodak Co., and Olympus Camera. The aviation experiences lead to a number of articles in General Aviation publications.
My bachelor's degree is in Economic History, from Columbia University, The School of General Studies in1967. I have done graduate work in Marine archaeology and Accounting. I hold a SEL FAA License, with an Instrument rating, am a certified NAUI open water diver, and have served in the U.S.Army, from which I was honorably discharged.
The most important aspect of my experiences, which I would share with students, is the love of, and necessity of learning, not as rote memorization, but helping students to see the connections between data points. Things aren't what they necessarily appear to be, and discovering at first hand what the underlying reality is, can provide incredible excitement. I assure students that there is noting quite like the moment when I found the document, dating to 1609, linking Henry Hudson to both English Intelligence, and to a previously un-noted voyage. That bit of espionage, solved one of England's major economic problems of the age, the unavailability of a mordant to fix dyes in fabric, England's principal export item.
Latino and Hispanic students have been particularly short-changed in studying the age of "Discovery," the 15th - 17th century period in European History wherein all the great "geographic discoveries" were made. Portuguese exploration was built upon the shoulders of the Phoenicians, whose literature was uncovered by the Portuguese.
The process of marshaling the data for these publications has brought me more joy than most humans have in a lifetime. The five years I have invested in this project has provided at least weekly "Aha!" moments. One should properly think about learning as exploration and discovery, the revelation of new knowledge and understandings. The world becomes a slightly more comprehensible place. And in the art of writing, one is forced to arrange complex data in understandable form.
The pending publication of my book in the Fall of 2012, will preempt certain blocks of time.
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