2014 GIST cohort member Rob Davis has a long-standing interest in topics of a geographical nature, which manifests in his recent book, Following Sarah (Quiet Creek Corporation, 2013).  After a childhood spent exploring the wild places of Utah, and a 25 year career in the US Marine Corps, he retired and wrote the story of his great-grandmother who, in 1849, along with her family, made her way across the country in a covered wagon.  He says, "My interest in GIS stems from an interest in spatially describing things, events, even journeys from the past.  When doing research for Following Sarah, I was impressed with Sarah's and others' practical awareness of where they fit in their environment. Though not computerized, people have always had a "geographic information system" swirling around them -- their environment.  I think humans have always been pretty good at using that system.  The computerized GIS of today is able to take mountains of data and convert it into something humans can understand -- a map.  I'm intrigued by that (and I really enjoy maps)."  Take a closer look at Following Sarah here.