As a child, the author listened closely as his father, Frederico Gonzales, shared his stories about surviving World War II as a fighter pilot whose plane was shot down over Germany. The only survivor of the crash, he landed underneath the instrument panel at the front of the plane, and a local German farmer approached him with his pistol.

The author leaves this military story on this cliffhanger and reminisces about working at his father’s laboratory as a 10-year-old. His father, who became a biophysicist after the war, allowed Gonzales to help with odd jobs such as washing up and making microscope slides. Gonzales had to take the garbage to the incinerator, where he was sometimes frightened to see human body parts among the debris. While he was disturbed by some of these experiences, he wanted to learn from his father and grew up “believing in science” and “the search for some universal laws” (13).

Gonzales confesses that he became fascinated with the idea of survival and began to take risks while adventuring in his native bayou region of Texas. He wrote about all his experiences, and the passion soon turned professional.

As an adult, he pursued journalism while also training as a pilot.