The young Wake didn’t travel much as one of nine children, but when opportunities arose in college, he made the most of them. Many years after the travels took place, Wake brings readers the tale of his travels around the world starting in 1976, when he had his first hitchhiking adventure to Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Parks. Throughout the years, he was present for Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee in London, traveled around post-Mao China shortly after it had opened up to tourists, and visited the Philippines during the “snap election” between Ferdinand Marcos and Cory Aquino. Aside from that, he visited the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, spent a Christmas in Thailand, celebrated the first night of Ramadan in Indonesia, and camped on the beach in Greece. Wake includes everything you could want in a travel memoir: glimpses into many different geographic places and cultural differences, a narrator who makes connections with people in the places he travels to, and a healthy dose of good luck that allows him to be in significant places during their most memorable historical moments. While hinting at other adventures, this memoir is focused on the travels that brought the author to significant political events around the world, often by chance. Wake presents a unique blend of optimism, deification gratification, a strong belief in self-ability, and “being blessed by glorious serendipity” that brought him to each place at just the right time: “The best discoveries, the deepest mysteries, and the most memorable adventures always come from the people I meet while getting to and from the must-see sites.” Wake delves into each adventure in its fullest, learning languages, meeting people, participating in local cultural events, and creating memories to last a lifetime.