Embark on an Odyssey

In 1958, when he was five, Brooks moved with his family from the USA to Libya, North Africa.  His Father, working for the Gulf Oil Corporation, was assigned to explore new territories where the company could expand its petroleum production, leading to 12 years (4,200 days) living in Libya, Somalia, and Ethiopia.  During this time, his Father earnestly convinced the school principals that Brooks would learn more on a safari or geologic field trip than in class, allowing Brooks to go on many adventures, imparting an appreciation of life’s wonders and a love of unusual and sometimes risky encounters.  His Red Sea exposure to Arabian-style dhows and interaction with Dahlak Archipelago islanders in their small, lateen-rigged sailing boats made him realize he wanted to do something directly involving the sea.

 

After their time in Africa, the family transferred to Seoul, South Korea.  Upon graduating from Seoul Foreign School in 1971, Brooks entered Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas.  But upon returning to his homeland full-time for the first time since he was five, he encountered profound culture shock, deciding to postpone college and embark on a soul-searching ‘gap year’ in the Java Sea region of Southeast Asia.  Three years after departing Ethiopia and seeking to activate his seafaring dream, he found himself in Singapore, joining as a crew member on the sailing schooner Four Winds.  The exciting and often dangerous experiences he gained from his African adventures built a foundation of confidence and exposure that helped make his exploits possible, enabling him to fulfill his long-held dream ‘to go to sea.’

 

Finding a keel in life following that year of excitement, Brooks returned to the USA, graduated with a degree in Petroleum Geology from Marietta College in Ohio, and immediately began working in the petroleum industry.  However, still driven by his dreams of adventures on ships, he took another detour, joining a Chinese-rigged schooner in Amsterdam, resulting in two years working on three sailing ships with two Atlantic crossings and one rescue at sea.

 

In his late twenties, he re-entered the oil industry as a drilling fluids specialist, living and working in Venezuela, Ecuador, Tunisia, Turkey, Russia, Germany, and Kazakhstan.  Eventually, he started his own consulting company, Caspian Steppes, which enabled him to travel and work throughout Central Asia for 25 years.  Today, Brooks resides in Houston, Texas, with his wife Marge of 36 years and continues to be involved in international business.  In his ‘author era,’ he has transformed his memories into a collection of amusing, shocking, and revealing short stories.  He invites you to join him on a journey that spans continents and decades of adventure and discovery.