David Schmahmann was born in Durban, South Africa, has studied in India and Israel, and is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Cornell Law School. He has been a partner in a la...view moreDavid Schmahmann was born in Durban, South Africa, has studied in India and Israel, and is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Cornell Law School. He has been a partner in a large Boston law firm, has worked in Burma with an affiliate of a Thai law firm, and has published extensively on legal issues, including several relating to law practice in Burma. He is also the author of three previous novels, Empire Settings, (set in part in South Africa and winner of the John Gardner Book Award for the most outstanding book of fiction published in 2001 by a small or university press ), Nibble & Kuhn (about a pompous Boston law firm), and Ivory from Paradise. David lives with his wife and daughters in Weston, Massachusetts.view less