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Harold Stephens (December 3, 1926) is an American author known for his explorations of World War II, China and his world travels and adventures. ==Biography== Harold Stephens was born in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, and was raised on a nearby farm.〔Rosenblum, Mort. "Biography of Harold Stephens", ''Associated Press, Paris''. http://www.wolfendenpublishing.com/cms/?page_id=32〕 When the farmhouse burned down, he went to work in the coal mines and later in the steel mills. A month before his seventeenth birthday, he lied about his age to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. Four months later fought in the Battle of Okinawa.〔Myers, Peter. "He Said, She Said: Harold Stephens", ''Lifestyle & Travel'', November/December 2006 issue, ISSN: 1686-2600〕 When the war ended in 1945, he went to China as a China Marine. He landed in Tsingtao, attended the Chinese language school, and become an interpreter. He remained in China until the communist revolution in 1949. Back home again and not wanting to return to the steel mills, Stephens re-enlisted in the Marine Corps, He was sent to Paris as a Marine Security Guard, and became an aide to the American Ambassador, Jefferson Caffery.〔 Stephens met and married an American who was working in Paris. Realizing the need for an education, they returned to America. He took his discharge, and with an appointment from Ambassador Caffery, entered the Foreign Service School, Georgetown University. One of his classmates was Jackie Kennedy, wife of then Senator John F. Kennedy.〔Flaherty, Tina Santi. ''What Jackie Taught Us'', pp. 138-9 Perigee Books, ISBN 978-0-399-52988-7〕 Graduating from Georgetown in 1955, Stephens studied law, but ultimately dropped out to work with the National Security Agency. He soon decided that working for the government was far worse than the steel mills of Pennsylvania. At the same time, his marriage began to crumble; he and his wife divorced.〔 Stephens long career as a writer began as a Marine in China, when he started writing short stories and skits. While working for the government in Washington, he wrote travel articles for the ''Washington Post''. After his divorce, he decided to write full-time. He resigned from the National Security Agency and embarked on a life of travel and adventure. He moved to Tahiti to live, but left when the French turned the islands into a nuclear testing ground, and moved to Asia. He joined a camel caravan in Kabul, Afghanistan,〔 crossing the country on a camel. He also hiked in Tibet and traveled deep into Bhutan. He finally went to Spain, where he could write and live inexpensively. There he met Ernest Hemingway, James Michener, Anthony Quinn, Ava Gardner and the great bullfighters of the time, including American bullfighter John Fulton (Short). Michener became a good friend and encouraged Stephens to continue his writing. Stephens eventually returned to Southeast Asia, where he joined the staff of the ''Bangkok Post'' and also became a travel correspondent for Royal Orchid Holidays at Thai Airways, a position he still holds.〔Gray, Denise. "Expat Society List 300 Who’s Who in Thailand", ''Tatler Magazine'', p. 82. ISBN 974-94765-7-3〕 Stephens married again, this time to Michelle, an Asian woman at the ''Bangkok Post'' who was very understanding and supported his wandering ways and writing. They have three sons, all who attended colleges in the United States. Paul, the youngest, graduated from Berkeley. Denise, his daughter from his first marriage, is a successful stockbroker, while his older son, Peter, is a rancher. Stephens has written more than 25 books and about 4,500 magazine and newspaper articles. He is currently writing about the expatriate artists of Bali and plans to build another schooner in Singapore with his nephew, photographer Robert Stedman, to explore the rivers of Asia. His also outfitting a vehicle for a motor drive across China into Tibet and Mongolia. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harold Stephens (author)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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