Crossing the Date Line: Adventures of a Traveling Geologist is a memoir written by John Sollo. Sollo's good marks in his introductory historical geology class in college fired up a growing interest in the subject. He later graduated with a degree in engineering geology. His career choice gave him the opportunities to travel around the world while working on assessment and evaluation assignments for dams, tunnels and other projects. While he spent some time in South America, namely Chile, Peru, Argentina and Venezuela, the bulk of his projects took him to various parts of Asia, including Nepal, New Zealand and Africa. Sollo worked as a traveling geologist for 36 years.

John Sollo's memoir, Crossing the Date Line: Adventures of a Traveling Geologist, is a unique and esoteric collection of travel essays. Unlike the typical travel journal, Sollo's stays in foreign climes are well off the beaten track. The hotels were often dingy, dank and lacking the amenities most tourists take for granted, and the food offerings sometimes had the author dreaming of a Big Mac. I love travel memoirs and travelogues, and was fascinated by Sollo's tales of his various travel adventures. I especially enjoyed the chapters covering his Peruvian and South American assignments, the time he and his wife spent in Nepal, and his experiences in Laos. The photographs Sollo concludes each chapter with are marvelous and help the reader get even more involved with the places visited and the lives Sollo touched during his travels. While he sometimes seems to complain about the primitive conditions and drab airports, the author's exuberance, curiosity and love of adventure shine through in each of these tales. Crossing the Date Line: Adventures of a Traveling Geologist will delight armchair adventurers, and it is highly recommended.

At first glance I was not sure I would enjoy Crossing the Date Line: Adventures of a Traveling Geologist by John Sollo. I thought the book might be a little boring, and only about what Sollo’s job function was around the world. I was wrong because this book was actually very good. I never knew that geologists lead such an adventurous life.

John Sollo brings his book Crossing the Date Line to life with his descriptive details and facts about the places he has been. The book is beautifully laid out. Each chapter is a different country or state that Sollo has worked in as a geologist. The chapter is then filled with details about his adventures and facts involving that place. My favorite experience of Sollo’s was when, in Alaska, he woke up next to a black bear that happened to be in his cabin. At the end of each chapter, Sollo includes a few pictures showing what and who he has talked about. The book is also educational. I learned that the country with the most languages spoken in it is Papua New Guinea.

After reading Crossing the Date Line, I definitely have more respect for geologists. I knew their job was important, but I never realized that they get to travel everywhere and lead an adventurous life. I personally could never deal with the slimy creatures Sollo has encountered, not to mention the numerous bugs. I like that Sollo got to know the locals in the countries and saw how they really live. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to travel.

Crossing the Date Line: Adventures of a Traveling Geologist by John Sollo is an entertaining book for all those who love traveling and discovering new places. The author's travel experiences as an engineering geologist take readers to the dense jungles of southeast Asia, the dry mountains of Chile and Peru, the foothills of the Himalayas, the Sahara desert, and also to places like Gangtok, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. His travels also made him realize how wonderful his own country, the United States of America, is and how their National Parks, rivers, mountain ranges, prairies, cities, and even grocery shopping are all unique and charming when compared to the rest.

The book is adventurous and exciting, and the descriptions of the author's travels take readers on a trip where they are introduced to various types of food, different living conditions, and people whom the author has met. The narration is descriptive and detailed, bringing the places, scenes, and characters to life. The interesting information about the places he has visited will hold the attention of readers till the very end, and motivate them to travel to new destinations and experience new things. The humor, the characters, the color, and the essence of the author's travels are engaging, and readers can also see pictures which will help them connect well with the characters and places. Each country the author has visited has its own charm and attraction, and every chapter stands on its own like a short story.