In the early 1980s, the lure of travel drew Bruce Whipperman away from a 20-year career of teaching physics. The occasion was a trip to Kenya, which included a total solar eclipse and a safari. He hasn't stopped traveling since.

With his family grown, he has been free to let the world's wild, beautiful corners draw him on: to the ice-clawed Karakoram, the Gobi Desert's trellised oases, the pink palaces of Rajasthan, Japan's green wine country, Bali's emerald terraces, and now, Oaxaca's rich crafts markets, regal ruins, and picture perfect mountain vistas and plumy, sun-drenched coastline.

Bruce has always pursued his travel career for the fun of it. He started with slide shows and photo gifts for friends. Others wanted his photos, so he began selling them. Once, stranded in
Ethiopia, he began to write. A dozen years later, after scores of magazine and newspaper feature stories, Moon Handbooks Pacific Mexico became his first book. For Bruce, travel writing heightens his awareness and focuses his own travel experiences. He always remembers what a Nepali Sherpa once said: Many people come, looking, looking; few people come, see.