Ted Botha was born in New York and grew up in Japan, South Africa, and Washington, D.C. He has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, and Outside. His first book, Apartheid in my Rucksack, was a personal account of discovering Africa as a white African. His new book, Mongo Adventures in Trash, is about the people who collect what others consider garbage, whether it’s a computer, a book, a soda can or a piece of a demolished building.