Eric Chaline is a professional journalist and writer specializing in history,
philosophy, and religion. A graduate of Cambridge University and The School
of African and Oriental Studies, London, he lived in Tokyo for seven years where
he was English-language editor for Kodansha Publishers. More recently, he has
published titles on philosophy, including The Book of Zen and The Book of Gods, and
on history, including Traveler's Guide to the Ancient World: Ancient Greece, History's
Worst Inventions, History's Greatest Deceptions, and History's Worst Predictions. He now
lives and works in London, where he is conducting doctoral research in sociology at
South Bank University.