Jon Turk earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1971 and was nominated by National Geographic as one of the Top Ten Adventurers of the Year in 2012. Between these bookends, Jon co-authored the first college level environmental science textbook in North America, followed by 35 additional texts. At the same time, he kayaked around Cape Horn, across the North Pacific from Japan to Alaska, and around Ellesmere Island. He has also mountain biked across the northern Gobi in Mongolia and made numerous first ski descents and first rock climbing ascents around the globe. During extended travel in northeast Siberia, Jon’s worldview was altered by Moolynaut, a Siberian shaman, and his later books reflect these spiritual journeys, supported by adventure storytelling, and integrated with an anthropological view of the role of art and mythology in human development.