James Ernest Shaw

James Ernest Shaw lives and writes from small-town America, in the heart of what John Steinbeck called "the prettiest state I ever saw." He and his wife Mardi divide their time between their five children and their eight grandchildren. James is a former filmmaker and for six years wrote a newspaper column, "Another View of Life." His first book, "An Italian Journey," chronicles the adventures and the people that James met during an extended sojourn in Tuscany picking olives and eating with Italians at their kitchen tables. He was searching for the essence of Italy - what makes Italians so uniquely hospitable. "A Harvest of Revelations in the Olive Groves of Tuscany" is the story of the Italians who shared their lives with him. His second book, AN AMERICAN JOURNEY: TRAVELS WITH FRIDAY IN SEARCH OF AMERICA AND AMERICANS, is a comparison of America 1962 and America 2012 told through the stories of the people James met on two bike rides across the heartland taken fifty years apart. The first bike trip was inspired by John Steinbeck's TRAVELS WITH FRIDAY, and the second bike trip was, like Steinbeck's journey, taken during the height of a campaign for President. And in each book, the unique story of America is told through the people that Steinbeck and Shaw met on the roads of America. James is a product of small-town America (Hayes Center, Nebraska population 248). He graduated from the University of Nebraska. After a short stint as a ski bum in Breckenridge, Colorado, he served in the US Army as a cinematographer. He spent his professional career as a cinematographer and filmmaker, working from his home base in Aspen, Colorado and Wisconsin. He produced adventure films throughout the world for Discovery, The Learning Channel, Public Television and his own productions. James is also a pilot with over two thousand hours, and in his never-ending quest for adventure even served a short stint as a bush pilot in Alaska. He still enjoys flying but has found his true love is more down to earth. He was raised as the son of a wheat farmer and is happy to once again be back on the land enjoying life in a small town. BELLA SCOPERTA!