Born in Massachusetts, he is the son of an Italian mother and a Canadian father. He attended university in Maine and Massachusetts (Amherst), and currently lives between Cape Cod and Hawaii. He has taught in Italy, Malawi, Uganda, Singapore and the UK. He has written dozens of novels, essays and some of the best travel books ever, such as «The Old Patagonian Express», «Ghost Train to the Orient», «Deep South and «The Great Railway Bazaar».