North American Explorations

About the Book

In the 1940s and 1950s academic geography was a comparatively young discipline in the universities of Australia and New Zealand. Its leaders, with but a few exceptions, were men who had been born and educated in England. The strong ties with Britain meant that young graduates from down under who wished to do further study overseas typically went to England to do so. But with the beginning of the Fulbright program in 1946 and the increasing visits of American geographers down under, this orientation began to change and young geography graduates began to look to North America for opportunities to pursue their careers. The ten persons who have contributed memoirs in this volume were among them. In different ways, they all enjoyed success; some stayed in North America, others returned; some made their marks in research, some in public policy, others in university administration. Their reflections provide interesting commentary on developments in geography over the past half century and on the universities involved.

About the Author

Leslie King, the editor, is a Professor Emeritus in Geography, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. He is a graduate of the University of New Zealand (BA, MA) and the University of Iowa (PhD). He taught at the University of Canterbury, McGill, and Ohio State before taking up the Chair of Geography of McMaster in 1970, where he subsequently served as Dean of Graduate Studies and Vice President (Academic). He is a past President of the Canadian Association of Geographers, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.