Under Different Skies
The Life of a Wandering Geologist
by
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About the Book
Under Different Skies takes the reader to several countries in Africa and the Middle East during the 1950’s and 60’s at a time when many changes were happening. World War Two had caused a huge awakening in this region. All-terrain vehicles and transistor radios were changing the expectations of people in many countries and revolution was always in the air. The book gives a glimpse of conditions in these countries as they were then, and how geological exploration parties had to cope with them.
We are given a brief glimpse of Ron’s early life in New Zealand, then the book becomes a compilation of fascinating anecdotes, presented chronologically, that trace the adventures, encounters and experiences that shaped his life. In working as an exploration geologist one is never far from the world of animals and they too feature strongly in his stories.
About the Author
Ron Player was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1931. He first qualified as a teacher, taught for a period, then realized that he had to follow his fascination with geology so completed his MSc in this discipline at Auckland University. He then spent over ten years working world-wide with an international oil company and was honoured in Iran for his services to sporting youth by being presented to Shah Reza Pahlavi. He finally left the oil world for family reasons, did his PhD at Reading University, England, emigrated to Australia and worked until his retirement as a lecturer in Geology at Rusden State College in Melbourne, Australia. This gave him the chance to pass on to students a lot of what he’d gained through first-hand experience. He is currently retired and lives in Melbourne with his wife Vivienne. Ron was always a keen sportsman, earning his ‘University Blue’ in both cricket and Indoor basketball. He assisted in coaching Davis Cup tennis players in Iran, refereed their international tournaments, and later became a scratch golfer. Back in Australia, he built his own second yacht and rediscovered the joys of sailing.