Robert Nilsen was born and raised in Minnesota. His first major excursion from the insular Midwest was a two-year stint in South Korea with the Peace Corps. Following that eye-opening service, he stayed on in Korea independently, teaching and traveling and soaking up as much of its history and culture as he could. Setting his sights on other lands and cultures, he made a two-year trek through Asia before returning home to the United States, and since then has had the good fortune to return to Asia and the Pacific on numerous occasions. Robert has written Moon Handbooks South Korea for Avalon Travel Publishing, and has contributed to Moon Handbooks Indonesia.
Since the passing of his good friend J. D. Bisignani, Robert has taken on the challenge of revising new editions of Moon’s Hawaii series, which includes handbooks to Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui, and the Big Island of Hawai‘i. In researching these guides, Robert encountered many adventures and events unique to the islands themselves: the exhilaration of standing on the highest mountaintop in the Pacific in near-freezing temperatures; the joy of an in-your-face encounter with a throng of reef fish; conversations with residents about respect for the land and native Hawaiian rights; and comforting meals of fresh fish and island vegetables during cool and breezy evenings. Robert has learned to appreciate the essence of the islands and hopes to pass it on to his readers through the pages of these books.
Of all the many wonderful aspects of the Hawaiian Islands — slack key guitar, palm-fringed beaches, tropical mountain hikes — it is the re-emergent culture of the Hawaiian people and their friendly aloha spirit that keep Robert heading back year after year.