Gerry Max
Author, Project Research and Consultant

Gerry Max, our consultant and the author of Horizon Chasers - The Lives and Adventures of Richard Halliburton and Paul Mooney (McFarland and Company, 2007), has appeared before groups and given radio interviews on Richard Halliburton.  He has published articles on a wide variety of humanities-related topics and earned grants.  He collects and appraises rare books, including rare editions of Halliburton's books and those of other travel writers of Halliburton's era.  He teaches writing courses at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and, at Lakeland College, has taught World History, often incorporating Richard Halliburton and the history of travel literature into his lectures.  Inspired by Halliburton's example, he has visited many parts of the globe associated with him as well as other figures from America's literary past. 

He holds a B.A. in History from Lawrence University, and from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M. A. in Classics, a Ph. D. in Ancient History, and an M.L.S. in Library and Information Science. He has been awarded post-doctoral fellowships to study at the University of California-Berkeley, University of California-Davis, and the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.  He has also been awarded the William B. Wisdom Grant-in-Aid of Research by the Thomas Wolfe Society to study at Harvard.  Presently he is preparing a second book on Richard Halliburton's unpublished writings.  

The seeds of his interest in history and geography were first sown when, about four or five years old, he set eyes on the two Books of Marvels among his grandmother's books, and opened them to behold their dazzling pictures of faraway places.  He believes that, as a writer of a succession of best selling travel adventure books, and as a popular lecturer, Halliburton figured prominently in educating several generations of young Americans in the basics of geography, history and world culture, especially through his two Books of Marvels.  In his opinion, had Halliburton lived, he might very well have produced film lectures and, later, educational television features.  The whole world was to Halliburton his fatherland, and he urged that every young person, before it is too late, decide upon a course of far-ranging travel as a means to better self-knowledge, career choice, and spiritual enlightenment.