It all started with a splash of color and a gift for procrastination. Otherwise, author Jason Roberts might not have been haunting the library aisles where he spotted a turquoise-spined book. Within that slim volume was the brief bio of the 19th century explorer James Holman, a man known in his day as the "Blind Traveler." Holman’s story grabbed Roberts and simply demanded to be told. Roberts responded with a gutsy work of nonfiction that now demands to be known.
It begins at sea with a strapping 12-year-old boy whose health is falling apart. By his late teens, he is bed-ridden; by his 20s, he is blind. Braille has yet to be invented and England's sightless are either pitied or reviled. Against all odds, Young Holman charts a third course, deciding to circumnavigate the globe.
From tales of a sea war with Old Ironsides to an account of a trip up a spewing Vesuvius, through crowded cities and across frozen tundra with a metal-tipped cane, James Holman's life as told in this biography reads like a dare to get out of the house and live! Except you won't be rushing anywhere once you start the first page. (Hear an interview with author Jason Roberts.)
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