Of Ships, Circuits, and the Written Word

I was raised in postwar England, shaped by a world rebuilding itself and by an early fascination with technology, history, and the written word. My first career took me to sea, serving as a Radio Officer on ships voyaging to the Persian Gulf, East Indies, and China. Those years of travel, discipline, and exposure to different cultures gave me a lasting perspective on how vast, and interconnected, the world truly is.

After leaving the sea, I pursued higher education and built a career in technology and engineering, working across England, Germany, Switzerland, and Canada. Alongside my professional work, I developed a deep interest in history, governance, and the forces that shape societies over time, how ideas, laws, and power repeat, evolve, and sometimes fail.

Today, in retirement, I focus on writing. My books draw on a lifetime of travel, technical knowledge, and historical curiosity, blending lived experience with imagination and reflection. When I’m not writing, I can be found sailing or on the golf course, still drawn to wide horizons.

I write for readers who enjoy thoughtful storytelling grounded in real experience, stories that look to the past to better understand the present and imagine what may come next.

John Shenton