Champ, Robert

Robert Champ has traveled widely in the Americas and Europe, navigated theupper Amazon and the Yangtze, survived narrow, precipitous roads in the Caucasus. Add to this a humorless dominatrix of an Intourist guide, plus true-believing, leering comrades at intimidating customs checkpoints (was he bringing in a Bible? a Playboy?), and we recognize we´re in the dark old Soviet Union. The author was born in the Midwest on the eve of WWII. After some Pacific excursions courtesy of the US Navy, he eventually settled in California. He lives in San Francisco.