An Involuntary Traveler: A Memoir From The First 20 Years By: Yoram Eckstein About the Author Yoram Eckstein, a Jew born in Poland ony 21 months before the beginning of WWII, survived the war in exile in the Soviet Union, first in a Siberian camp and then in the slums of Bukhara. He was educated in postwar Stalinist Poland, and later in Israel where he completed his studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, obtaining a PhD in Geological Sciences. His career spanned more than 50 years, and included 37 years as a professor at Kent State University in Ohio and a multitude of national and international research and consulting projects. He passed away in June 2020 and leaves a legacy that includes three children and six grandchildren.