Dr. Jack Wheeler, dubbed the "Real Life Indiana Jones," by the Wall Street Journal, has been traveling and leading private expeditions for decades. As a professional adventurer, Jack made three "first contacts" by discovering tribes that had never been contacted by the outside world. He and his party led elephants over the Alps and retraced Hannibal's footsteps. He's a been a mountain climber since being the youngest American to climb the Matterhorn at age 14. His sky diving record was noted in the Guinness World Record as a record that cannot be broken was for the most northerly skydive at exactly 90 degrees North. In 2014 he completed a life goal of traveling to 197 countries (all 193 countries recognized by the U.N. and four that are not: Taiwan, Kosovo, North Korea, and Somaliland.) As a geopolitical consultant, he speaks and writes on how the history, geography, culture, religion, and political events are changing our world dynamically. He enjoys writing to share his experiences with his readers. His proudest accomplishment is his two sons.
Kanton Atoll, Phoenix Islands, Pacific Ocean. Okay, Escape Artists. If you really want to get away from it all, you come here. Named after an American whaling ship that wrecked on…
This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on July 23, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here. This is a story about 21st century…
All photos by Jack Wheeler Western Cwm of Everest at 7,000m/23,000ft, Everest to left, Lhotse straight ahead. Well, this is sobering – at least for me. Two months from now,…
This is the Hanging Monastery in Datong, China. Built on a cliff face on the edge of Inner Mongolia, it’s over 1,500 years old. I’ve just spent the last three…
This is the Dragon’s Blood Tree, Dracaena cinnabari. It can be found in only one place on earth, a remote island called a Lost World for its uniqueness, the “most alien-looking…
I took this picture flying in a motorized hang glider over the Lop Nor Desert of Chinese Turkestan in 2008. For most people, the image that first comes to their…
Paphos, Cyprus. Let’s begin our story with Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love, who was born here. Then we’ll talk about Audrey Hepburn, Lazarus, Richard the Lionheart, Walt Disney’s Snow…
Where Orwell’s 1984 is Real As of today (May 28), it looks like the Trump-Kim Summit will still take place in Singapore on June 12. Peace between North and South…
Hani Rice Terraces – Yunnan, China People are always interested in superlatives, so I’m often asked, “What’s the most interesting, the most fascinating place you’ve ever been to?” It’s…
The Fascination of China (Part 2) – Inner Mongolia and the Gobi Desert Last week, we talked about China’s far south – the unknown wonders of the Yunnan Province. This…