James Johnston Abraham (1876 - 1963) was born in Coleraine, County Derry. He worked in London and had a general practice in County Clare. During the First World War he served as medical officer with the Serbian, Egyptian and Portuguese armies. The Surgeon's Log (1907) describes a year Abraham spent as a ship’s surgeon in 1906. It is a beautifully written, descriptive travelogue which became a bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic. Abraham had little medical work to do during the voyage and was able to relax on deck and go ashore when they reached the ports. Leaving Birkenhead, they travelled non-stop to Port Said, through the Suez Canal and across the Indian Ocean to Penang. They then sailed down the Malacca Strait to Singapore and on to Japan, where they visited Nagasaki, Moji, Kobe and Yokohama. They voyaged home via the Dutch East Indies and Marseilles. Published by Penguin, 6th impression 1939. A vintage Penguin Book.