The Royal Road to Romance

Richard Halliburton was a writer, lecturer, and world traveler. He published numerous books in his short lifetime, including The Royal Road to Romance, Glorious Adventure, and The Complete Book of Marvels. Halliburton is known for having paid the lowest toll to cross the Panama Canal, which he swam in 1928, paying 36 cents. Born in Tennessee in 1900, Halliburton died in 1939 as he and his crew attempted to sail a Chinese junk, the Sea Dragon, from Hong Kong to San Francisco as a publicity stunt. The vessel was unseaworthy and went down in a storm, apparently shortly after Halliburton sent out his last signal: "Southerly gales, squalls, lee rail under water, wet bunks, hard tack, bully beef, wish you were here-instead of me!"