My intent was to add a little smoke to obscure the view and to plug my hero.
I uncovered at least one other Halliburton lover.
BTW, I saw a piece this week where a modern day daring doer was reinacting many of the original Halliburton adventures including following Hanibal's march across the Alps and swimming the Bosphorus. He was not however giving credit to the intrepid Richard Halliburton for conceiving the stunts
I loved those books. We had 2 in our school library -- huge, oversized volumns, as I remember. 7 wonders of the Ancient World and 7 Wonders of the New World, I think. I was about 11.
I read both books cover to cover in a month -- not being allowed to take them home. I was allowed use of the library only 1 hour per day and I would scramble in there fast (after orchestra practrice) to be first to get my hands on the books. I still vividly remember him swimming through the locks of the Panama Canal and diving down a well where the Mayans sacrificed young maidens.
Later I discovered a third volumn in the public library, but I didn't like it as much. I was very disappointed to learn that he had died in a sailing accident. I've known only one other person in my whole life who has read those books.