The Long and the Short of It

The Long and Short of It is a tale of a family that had to wander from country to country to survive and their descendant who has wandered by choice. It spans some hundreds of years of a family's life in Lithuania and Russia to the circumstances, events and adventures of their descendants up to the present day. It is the life story of one who has had the privilege to choose his profession and to practice it for over 60 years in Africa, Europe, the Americas, the Middle and Far East. It is not a story of day to day living but a commentary and description of incidents, adventures and the description of a life of one whose profession, the planning of cities, has allowed him both the time and conditions to understand and appreciate the character and culture of many peoples and be involved in finding ways to improve both their daily lives and future lifestyles. It describes the life of a consultant and his family as they travel and live together in times of peace and prosperity and face the challenges of political upheaval and war, earthquakes, hurricanes and pandemics. It recounts tales of worldwide travels adventures, and misadventures, success and failure. It is the story of a life of interest and fulfillment, fascination and enjoyment of people and love of family.

Jonathan Smulian is a descendant of a family that left Lithuania in the 1880s and emigrated to the Cape Colony in South Africa. He is retired after 60 years of practice as an international city and regional planner and architect. He has lived in many cities in 12 countries and has worked in 26 countries in Africa, Europe, the Middle and Far East, the Caribbean and Central and South America. He was born in South Africa and has three nationalities having emigrated to the UK and later to the USA. He is a graduate of the Universities of Cape Town and Liverpool. He is the author of hundreds of published reports, articles and commentaries on urban development and architecture and more recently, his short stories. His essays and poems have been published in a number of literary and online journals in the USA. He has experienced wars, earthquakes, hurricanes and uprisings in many parts of the world and travelled extensively for both work and pleasure. After living in a new town in Virginia and in the forest in Vermont he now lives with his artist wife in an historic 19C bungalow in Houston Texas where in the days of a pandemic he spends his time enjoying life and writing and illustrating his work.