Jim Haskins is professor of English at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and lives in New York City and Gainesville. He currently serves as general editor of the Hippocrene Great Religions of the World series, and was general editor of The Filipino Nations, a three-volume work. Formerly Vice Director, Southeast Region, of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., he is currently a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution and a member of the Framework Development Committee of CIVITAS, a national civic education framework. Author of numerous articles, he also reviews books for the Gainesville Sun and other publications. He is the award-winning author of more than 100 books for both adults and young adults.