The European reporting of J Ross Browne details Browne's time in Europe while the Civil War was raging in the United States. Brown visits Iceland, Norway, Poland, Moscow and Germany. His entertaining and good humored style is indicative of the times and the attitudes of those times. In "A Californian in Iceland" Browne discovers mid nineteenth Century Iceland and Icelanders. From the original Serialization of 1863. "A Few Days in Moscow" details Browne's brief visit to the city. "A Flying Trip Through Norway" recounts a fast paced trip though the inland Norwegian countryside in the mid 19th century. A good sketch of the countryside and the people of the time. "An American Family in Germany" shows the clash between mid 19th century American and German cultures. "Poland Over-ground and Poland Under-ground" was originally Published in 1862, Browne takes his European Tour through Poland and her Salt Mines. John Ross Browne was born in Dublin on February 21, 1821 In 1833 the family emigrated to the United States., as a condition of his fathers release from prison, where he was serving time for his political activities. Browne briefly attended medical school, worked on a riverboat and signed on to a whaling ship out of New Bedford. In 1846 he published the book Etchings of a Whaling Cruise at Harper & Brothers, New York. He married Lucy Anne Mitchell in 1844. The couple had nine children. Brown settled in California in 1849, in time for the California Gold Rush, where he worked at various Government Jobs. He traveled extensively while writing serializations for Harper's Magazine. He was appointed Minister to China in 1868. John Ross Browne died on 9 Dec 1875 in Oakland, California.