I was born in the Chicago area, but I have lived all over the country and in Europe. When I am not writing books I am a consultant on environmental issues. My whole career has been making complex issues simple and getting to solutions. I do the same in my book - I make things simple and get to solutions.

I have a BS in geological sciences and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin. To say I like travel and witness world event first hand is an understatement. I have visited over seventy countries. I traveled through China just a few years after the country opened its doors to the world. I crossed the Iron Curtain at Checkpoint Bravo venturing into what was then the communist block. I witnessed oppression in Poland, East Germany, the Soviet Union, Romania, and Myanmar. My adventuresome streak has taken me to the savannas of Africa and the jungle of the Amazon. I hold esteemed company, being one of the few people in history that have stood at the geographic North Pole and the geographic South Pole. I have flown at Mach 2.5 and seen the edge of space in the black sky of noon found at 85,000 feet.

My extensive travels have made me appreciate what the United States truly stands for. I have seen the fierce economic competition building across the globe. I have witnessed failed societies and extraordinary poverty. I have seen the roots of failure in historic powers and can see the cracks that will bring down failing leadership today. The greatest lesson from my travels is the illumination of our own cultural weaknesses that could lead the United States down the path of decline.

I currently live near Charlotte North Carolina with my Wife Sandra and my two children Jeremy and Claire. We travel regularly to instill in my children the same wanderlust that has brought me the life experiences, knowledge and interest in our future

Ross V. Overby