Joel McNamara first got involved with digital maps in the early 1980’s. At the time he was studying archeology and instead of going out and playing Indiana Jones, he found himself in front of a computer monitor trying to predict where archeological sites were located based on LANDSAT satellite data.
The lure of computers ultimately led to his defection from academia to the software industry, where he worked as a programmer, technical writer, and manager; eventually ending up at a rather large software company based in Redmond, Washington. Joel now writes and consults on technology he finds interesting, such as GPS and digital maps.
Over the years he’s had practical experience using GPS and maps for wildland firefighting, search and rescue, and disaster response and planning. He’s also an avid user of the great outdoors (which means there’s way too much gear in his garage), competes in adventure races and other endurance sports, and so far has always found his way back home. In his spare time he volunteers for a federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team.
This is his second book. The first was Secrets of Computer Espionage: Tactics & Countermeasures (also published by Wiley), a reference guide for computer security practitioners and anyone interested in stopping sneaky spies.