Simon Adams has chosen to work in places most ‘normal’ people avoid – Cuba, South Africa, Northern Ireland, East Timor. Along the way he was a witness to the Eastern European anti-Communist revolutions of 1989, nearly died of dengue fever in Vietnam, and worked with former political prisoners in South Africa. Although he now lives in Johannesburg, his heart is in Fremantle, Western Australia.

He continues to be actively involved in global issues of social justice. He is the author of four history books, and is a Professor of History at Monash University. He is currently serving as Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor (International) of Monash’s South African campus. He has three children and still secretly dreams of being a pirate.