From shark wrangler to stand-up comedian, cruise-ship lifeguard to television producer, author Bob Friel front-loaded his life with an adventurous mix of jobs. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Bob was nonetheless drawn to islands and the sea. He studied marine science at the University of Miami, but discovered he wasn't suited to life in the lab. After graduating, he moved to Grand Cayman (the first of what is now eight islands that he's lived on) where he taught underwater photography and scuba diving. Bob then turned to photojournalism, working in hotspots such as Northern Ireland during The Troubles, Sri Lanka during the Tamil insurgency, and in the Guatemala Highlands. After getting tired of having teenagers point machine guns at him, Bob switched to safer pursuits, moving to the Republic of Maldives in the Indian Ocean where he made his living as a shark wrangler. Over the last two decades, Bob has worked variously in television (from cameraman to producer for major US and foreign networks), as a travel and wildlife photographer, and as a magazine journalist writing on everything from adventure to crime to beach bars--lots and lots of beach bars. He's traveled to more than 50 countries to capture stories, pictures, and footage for books, magazines and TV. Bob is also a trained amphibious ultralight pilot, marine naturalist, and bartender. He lives on Orcas Island, in Washington State, with his wife, Sandi, and their Leonberger, Murphy.