The Foreign Service Journal, November 2012

of Kilimanjaro’s highest altitudes. This Global E-Book Award nominee is fuel for all aspiring mountain climbers as well as those heading “over the hill.” Climbing “Kili” changed the author’s life and gave him the moti- vation he needed to leave his diplomatic career and follow his dreams. And with this book he is living them. Mike Edwards was a Foreign Service officer for 11 years. He left the Service in 2011 to focus on writing and now lives inThai- land with his wife, Jing, a Foreign Service specialist at Embassy Bangkok, and their son. This book is the first of his World Adven- turer Series. He also writes mysteries, thrillers and science-fiction fantasies, and has published a volume of short stories, Real Drea ms (see p. 49). Born With Wings—Experiencing Life in Exotic Lands Dorothy S. Conlon, CreateSpace, 2012, $15.95, paperback, 206 pages. As someone who worked in a steel factory and on a dude ranch before beginning college, Dorothy S. Conlon certainly has many stories to tell. This autobiography, of sorts, is a compilation of her 80 years of life. Though her roots are planted in New Eng- land, Conlon has explored, experienced, learned and grown up all over the world. First, she followed her missionary parents to Japan, Vermont and Maine. Then, after joining the Foreign Service, she broad- ened her travel portfolio with postings to such places as Taiwan, Singapore, Pakistan, Indonesia and India. Through her experiences as the daughter of missionaries with an affinity for Asian culture, playing the role of a villain in a Chi- nese opera in Taipei, and the exciting and demanding lifestyle of an FSO, Conlon has come to see the notion of “roots” in a differ-