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Much more than a travel narrative 360 Degrees Longitude: One Family’s Journey Around the World is a glimpse at what it means to be a “global citizen”—a progressively changing view of the world as seen through the eyes of an American family of four.
After more than a decade of planning, John Higham and his wife September bid their high-tech jobs and suburban lives good-bye, packed up their home and set out with two children, ages eight and eleven, to travel around the world. In the course of the next 52 weeks they crossed 24 time zones, visited 28 countries and experienced a lifetime of adventures.
Making their way across the world, the Highams discovered more than just different foods and cultures; they also learned such diverse things as a Chilean mall isn’t the best place to get your ears pierced, and that elephants appreciate flowers just as much as the next person. But most importantly, they learned about each other, and just how much a family can weather if they do it together.
360 Degrees Longitude employs Google’s wildly popular Google Earth as a compliment to the narrative. Using your computer you can spin the digital globe to join the adventure cycling through Europe, feeling the cold stare of a pride of lions in Africa, and breaking down in the Andes. Packed with photos, video and text, the online Google Earth companion adds a dimension not possible with mere paper and ink. Fly over the terrain of the Inca Trail or drill down to see the majesty of the Swiss Alps—without leaving the comfort of your chair.
Author's Note ix
0 Countdown 1
Part I Splat
1 Geothermal Sludge and a Good Advertising Agency (Iceland) 9
2 Home Is Where Your Stuff Is (England) 16
3 Egad! Cowboys and Croissants! (France) 32
4 Cyclus Interruptus (Switzerland) 46
Part II Shattered Bones, Shattered Plans
5 Gargling with Razor Blades (Czech Republic/Poland) 65
6 Have you Hugged Your Lawyer Today? (Poland/Sweden) 81
7 Chocolate Vomit Is a Medical Emergency! (Denmark/Germany) 91
8 Touch It, Wimp! (Switzerland...again) 100
9 The Incredible Disappearing Force Field (Italy) 108
Part III Out of Our Comfort Zone
10 Exploding Postal Scales (The Planet of Turkey, with a Dash of Greece) 121
11 A Dangerous Place to Be a Chicken (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) 141
12 Stranded by Our Stupidity (Tanzania) 150
13 Eat First, Ask Questions Later (Mauritius/Japan) 170
14 The Cruise Ship of Pain (The People's Republic of China) 187
15 Immigration Purgatory in the PRC (The Special Economic Zone of Shenzhen and Hong Kong) 204
16 Nipple-Nibbling Fish (Thailand) 215
17 The Ugly Side of Humanity (Cambodia) 220
18 The Cute One and the Danish Postal Pin-Up Girls (Thailand, Again) 235
19 Busted in the Ladies' Room (En Route over the Pacific) 243
Part IV Home Is Where Your Stuff Is
20 Danger! Banana Crossing! (Costa Rica) 251
21 A Pirate in the Caribbean (Panama) 264
22 Please Pass the Armageddon Pills (Bolivia) 278
23 Armageddon Pills---Don't Leave Home Without Them (Bolivia/Chile) 289
24 Roll, Puke, and Yaw (Chile/Argentina) 299
25 Aerobatic Maneuvers Not Permitted (Bolivia Again!) 310
26 One Tough Kid (Peru) 322
27 Kitchen Ballistics and the Cruisers of Paradise (Belize) 333
Reentry341
Appendix of Fast Facts 347
Appendix of How To 349
Appendix of Stupid Facts 361
Google Earth! 365
Acknowledgments 371
Anonymous
Posted Tue Dec 25 00:00:00 EST 2012
This book is a good read. Inspiring. Fun. Real.
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Overview
Much more than a travel narrative 360 Degrees Longitude: One Family’s Journey Around the World is a glimpse at what it means to be a “global citizen”—a progressively changing view of the world as seen through the eyes of an American family of four.
After more than a decade of planning, John Higham and his wife September bid their high-tech jobs and suburban lives good-bye, packed up their home and set out with two children, ages eight and eleven, to travel around the world. In ...