Gerald H. Read's interest in international education began as a child and was fostered by the artifacts collected by his father in his travels throughout Asia. He organized his first study tour abroad while he was a senior at Kent State University (Ohio) in 1936. In 1955, a group of educators who were interested in tours abroad for the purposes of comparative education asked William W. Brickman and Read to become directors of an informal organization to sponsor trips abroad. The Comparative Education Society was formally established in 1956, and the first tour was taken during that year. About 40 U.S. educators visited six European countries in a comparative education venture. The trip was successful and there was a great demand for more such ventures. The Ford Foundation underwrote a series of seminars in the USSR, the first of which occurred during September, 1958. The "Comparative Education Review" was published in 1957 and helped to establish contacts with educators throughout the world. At the present time there are comparative education societies in Korea, Japan, Canada, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, India, and Australia. To continue the interest in international education, the income from the Gerald H. Read Endowed Chair at Kent State University is used to invite professors from other countries to the campus. This paper is a transcript of a taped interview with Dr. Read. (SM)