Christopher Baker was born and raised in Yorkshire, England. After receiving a B.A. in Geography at University College London (including two Sahara research expeditions and an exchange program at Krakow University, Poland), he earned Masters degrees in Latin American Studies from Liverpool University, and in Education from the Institute of Education, London University. Baker began his writing career in 1978 as a Contributing Editor on Latin America for _Land and Liberty_, a London-based political journal. In 1980, he received a Scripps-Howard Foundation Scholarship in Journalism to attend the University of California, Berkeley. Since 1983 he has made his living as a professional travel and natural-sciences writer, and has been published in over 150 publications worldwide. Baker is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and has received several awards for outstanding writing, including the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism award. He lives in Oakland, California.