Additional information
by Gordon Bass (Author)
In 1948, Ben Carlin set out from New York City with an audacious, lunatic plan to circumnavigate the world in an army surplus amphibious jeep called Half-Safe. Fuelled by cigarettes and adrenaline, the Australian army major pushed his fragile, claustrophobic vehicle through fierce Atlantic hurricanes, across uncharted North African desert, into dense South-East Asian jungle and over the icy dark swells of the North Pacific. It was a 50,000-mile roll of the dice that by all rights should have killed him. When Ben finally pulled into Times Square a decade later, he found himself alone and forgotten, his legacy little more than a wake of women and empty whiskey bottles. And the worst was yet to come. Was it all a fool's errand? Or a pure manifestation of spirit? Where does a dream end and an obsession begin? What's an acceptable cost to pay, and to what lengths will a person go not to be left with the haunting question: what if? The Last Great Australian Adventurer is the compelling account of Ben Carlin's attempt to make an enduring mark on the world at the twilight of the Golden Age of Adventure.
Author Biography
Gordon Bass grew up in Texas but spent his childhood summers on excavations led by his father, George F. Bass, called the 'Indiana Jones of underwater archaeology' by TIME magazine. For the past 20 years Gordon has worked as a writer, editor and creative director for magazines, media brands and companies ranging from Maxim, Men's Journal, and Wired to Amazon and Time Inc. In 2013 he optioned a scripted television series to AMC, home to Mad Men and Breaking Bad. In addition to his work as a writer and editor, Gordon is an executive producer of the 2016 record Dirty Wonder by singer-songwriter K Phillips, who has toured in support of Counting Crows and Rob Thomas. Gordon has served as a director and communications chair of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, which his father founded in 1975.
