After surviving a terrorist massacre in the Middle East, climbing Mt. Sinai with Greek monks, hitchhiking through Europe, and crashing a car in the forests of Australia, Joel Ross had stories to tell -- and this was before he began his work for the Central Intelligence Agency, where he became enmeshed in a Latin American revolution, among other activities that cannot be revealed. He has written down his experiences -- encompassing such universal themes as love, betrayal, humor, and disappointment -- in a collection of enthralling vignettes spanning three decades: PHASES OF THE MOON.