So what does a guy do when most of his mates get married? For Roland, a 27-year-old public servant who lives with his parents, it results in a solo overseas trip that triggers a life-long obsession. Roland wanders the globe, through the continents of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. His journeys range from painstaking itinerant travel to the serendipity of spontaneous adventures and involve a plethora of unique experiences that enrich his knowledge, augment his appreciation of different cultures, impact his attitudes and uplift his spirits. However, approaching middle age, Roland feels it may be time for his travels to come to an end. Is it time to open a new chapter in his life and settle down to a comfortable existence in Australia? it is a question he wrestles with until circumstances ultimately decide his course.

*A New York Times Bestseller* The first definitive, unauthorized, behind-the-scenes cultural history of the Bachelor franchise, America’s favorite guilty pleasure. For sixteen years and thirty-six seasons, the Bachelor franchise has been a mainstay in American TV viewers’ lives. Since it premiered in 2002, the show’s popularity and relevance have only grown—more than eight million viewers tuned in to see the conclusion of the most recent season of The Bachelor. Los Angeles Times journalist Amy Kaufman is a proud member of Bachelor Nation and has a long history with the franchise—ABC even banned her from attending show events after her coverage of the program got a little too real for its liking. She has interviewed dozens of producers, contestants, and celebrity fans to give readers never-before-told details of the show’s inner workings: what it’s like to be trapped in the mansion “bubble”; dark, juicy tales of producer manipulation; and revelations about the alcohol-fueled debauchery that occurs long before the Fantasy Suite. Kaufman also explores what our fascination means, culturally: what the show says about the way we view so-called ideal suitors; our subconscious yearning for fairy-tale romance; and how this enduring television show has shaped society’s feelings about love, marriage, and feminism by appealing to a marriage plot that’s as old as the best of Jane Austen.

This is a collection of theses completed to fulfill B.S. requirements in the College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin, from 1895 to 1962.