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Biography, cv |
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Bio & Books |
for you and yours |
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Leaving New York for Europe was a big step, especially for someone who was only nine months old. The three years I lived there were the beginning of a long career of immersion and study in different cultures around the world. Altogether I have lived in and explored over twenty- three countries and delved into their histories. Collecting and studying ancient books became an important part of my life and I puzzled through them in English, French, German, Greek and Latin. At MIT, I learned how to do world-class research, then earned a master's degree in the history of business and finance from UCLA. My work in international business afforded me the unique opportunity to live and work in other countries, where I could pursue my desire to know more about their history and society. When my books began to bring in a good living, I was able to become fully dedicated to writing about amazing discoveries in history from around the world. The research filled many shelves with folders and books on people and different cultures. It became a private library on world history and those societies. From these studies I extracted aspects of life in different countries around the world which were unusual but fascinating, and wrote about them: the Kombucha health phenomenon in China and Japan, the Holistic approach to life developed by Jan Christiaan Smuts in South Africa, and the role of Moringa in Ayurvedic medicine from India. Then in 2002 my many years of research into the Phoenicians started to pay off. The work began providing answers to mysteries which had lingered for centuries. My trip to Lebanon in 2004 and to other key sites around the Mediterranean provided the catalyst which brought thousands of pieces together into a complete whole. Academic colleagues became interested, and invited me to present papers on the Phoenicians at universities and historical associations. I gladly accepted. In December 2005 the publisher finally brought out my Phoenicians book, culminating many years of research. Especially rewarding was the warm response from people of Lebanese descent whose ancestors were these same Phoenicians. The speaking engagements and media interest which followed were a rewarding opportunity to communicate much of what has been discovered. The lessons learned from this society and from many others may now provide some useful insights into how we can survive the economic crisis currently afflicting the world. At times such as these, powerful societies have fallen -- from the Phoenicians and Romans in antiquity, to the Soviet Union in recent years. If we apply what we have learned from them, our society might yet survive for a few more centuries. The exploration continues.
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© 2005-2009 Sanford Holst |
