Curtis J. James is a pseudonym for the three writers who collaborated on this book. They are Curtis Harris, James Ellenberger and James Rosen. Curtis Harris is a physician-scientist who is world renowned in the field of cancer research. His scientific contributions to the fields of molecular carcinogenesis, molecular epidemiology of human cancer, and clinical cancer research have placed him at the forefront of international cancer study. He collaborates with leading researchers in this field in the United States, Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and Asia and has traveled extensively to these regions during the past three decades. Dr. Harris has published more than 500 journal articles and100 book chapters, has edited 10 books, and holds more than 25 advanced biotechnology patents owned by the US government. He also serves as editor-in-chief for the scientific journal Carcinogenesis and has held or holds elected offices in numerous scholarly societies and nonprofit foundations. Dr. Harris is chief of the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis at the NIH National Cancer Institute. He is adjunct professor of oncology at Georgetown University School of Medicine. James Ellenberger worked for nearly 30 years in numerous capacities with the national AFL-CIO. Among his posts, he was responsible for Asian affairs in the organization's international affairs section and was assistant director of occupational safety and health. He was a senior analyst for unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, and disability issues. He later served four years as deputy commissioner of the Virginia Employment Commission under Governor Mark Warner. A Vietnam War veteran, he has traveled extensively in Asia and the Middle East. Ellenberger has written numerous articles on international labor affairs, social insurance, and medical care for injured workers. He is a founding member of the National Academy of Social Insurance. James Rosen is the Washington, D.C., reporter for the Miami Herald in McClatchy's Washington Bureau. He was previously Pentagon correspondent, a news strategist and a congressional reporter for the Miami Herald, Kansas City Star, Sacramento Bee, and 26 other McClatchy newspapers, as well as a frequent contributor to the Tribune News Service's 1,200 US and international media clients. He has received two National Press Club awards for political reporting and the McClatchy President's Award for his coverage of the 2000 postelection Florida recount. Before arriving in Washington, he was an assistant metro editor for the Raleigh News & Observer and a reporter for the New York Daily News. Fluent in Russian, Rosen also served as a Moscow correspondent for United Press International. While attending UC Berkeley, he received the school's highest awards for creative fiction and political science writing. Rosen holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York. We’re pleased to announce that High Hand has just won the IPPY Bronze Medal Award for Best New Writing/Fiction.