MY ODYSSEY AROUND THREE WORLDS

William Nickerson is the author of the best-selling How I Turned $1,000 into a Million in Real Estate -- In My Spare Time. This book is a lengthy account of a trip he took around the world as a young man -- before the stock market crashed. Motivated by a desire to win the admiration of the girl he loved and determined to prove his maturity he set out from Fresno at the age of 18 with three dollars and, it would seem, unlimited confidence in himself. Through the numerous jobs he managed to wangle as a seaman he made several trips across the Atlantic, to Mexico and South America, finally made a temporary base in Rome where he met the American friend with whom he was to continue his journey --to Egypt, Ceylon, India, Japan, and home. By sheer brass and exuberance the two managed to escape the usual consequences of stowing away, brawling and various other extra-legal activities, and at the same time maintain their innocence. The girl who inspired the odyssey had killed herself by the time Nickerson returned -- a sorry end to an otherwise epic-like journey. However, Nickerson's flat, dull prose style is unsuited to this type of book.