In 1936, eight-year-old William Adams made his first visit to the Southwest and the Puebloan ruins of Frijoles Canyon - better known as Bandelier National Monument. Amidst the red rock canyons and mesas his lifelong passion for the Southwest was born. When his family moved to Window Rock, Arizona, his fascination with the Southwest fused with a desire to make a career of studying American Indians and led him down the path to becoming a well-known and respected anthropologist. From his years growing up on the Navajo Reservation and later working there as a livestock drive foreman and trader, to conducting archaeological excavations in areas along the Nile in the Sudan and Egypt that were to be flooded by the Aswan High Dam, to holding visiting lectureships in China, Kazakhstan, Germany, and England, Adams' memoir tells the story of an active and adventurous life while reflecting on the lessons that come from living on four continents and working among many different cultures and languages.