I Did It My Way

"I am hopelessly spoiled with all this travel. It would take a miracle -- or a Clark Gable -- to make me end this set-up." 

Dot Schaller Bonavito (1922 - 2009) was fiercely independent, fascinated by world affairs, and hopelessly bitten by the travel bug. The U.S. Foreign Service enabled Dot to fulfill her dream of seeing the world -- her way.

In 1948, Dot was working with the US High Commission in Occupied Germany. A chance meeting with statesman George Kennan sealed Dot's decision to join the U.S. Foreign Service. In post-Partition Pakistan and India, she bought a burkha in Kabul and taught a Maharajah's son to play blackjack. She met Albert Schweitzer during the 1960s drive for African independence. She reached her goal of being secretary to U.S. Ambassadors to the UN in Geneva and in Italy, Thailand, and France. 

Dot used her Foreign Service posts as a base to explore. Over a span of fifty years, Dot visited over 100 countries. She took a 36-hour bus ride from Jerusalem to Teheran, alone. Borneo, Tibet, Timbuktu, Yemen -- it is difficult to name a place that Dot didn't visit. 

What made Dot different from many Foreign Service women and travelers of her generation? She recorded her colorful travels in detailed trip letters and photos. This book offers a fascinating glimpse of Dot's travel adventures -- written by Dot herself.