William L. Fisher is the Leonidas T. Barrow Centennial Chair in Mineral Resources and Professor Emeritus at The University of Texas at Austin, in the Department of Geological Sciences.

In his memoirs, Virgil Barnes recounts highlights of his life and career in entertaining detail: his childhood in Washington; his worldwide travels in search of tektites, accompanied by his wife, Milla; and his geological mapping and other research during his 58 years at the Bureau of Economic Ge