Contributors

Sandra Koa Wing studied life history research at the University of Sussex, where she became Mass Observation's first Development Officer. She died in May 2007 at the age of 28.

Peter Underwood (16 May 1923 – 26 November 2014) was an English author, broadcaster and parapsychologist. Underwood was born in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. Described as 'an indefatigable ghost hunter', he wrote many books which surveyed alleged hauntings within the United Kingdom – beginning the trend of comprehensive regional 'guides' to (purportedly) haunted places. One of his well-known investigations concerned Borley Rectory, which he also wrote about.

Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman (born August 3, 1941) is an American Buddhist author and academic who has written, edited, and translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism. He is the father of actress Uma Thurman. He was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, before retiring in June 2019.

He also is the co-founder and president of the Tibet House US New York. He translated the Vimalakirti Sutra from the Tibetan Kanjur into English.

He is the recipient of India's highly prestigious award Padma Shri 2020 for his work in the field of literature and education.

Terry Southern (May 1, 1924 – October 29, 1995) was an American novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and university lecturer, noted for his distinctive satirical style. Part of the Paris postwar literary movement in the 1950s and a companion to Beat writers in Greenwich Village, Southern was also at the center of Swinging London in the 1960s and helped to change the style and substance of American films in the 1970s. He briefly wrote for Saturday Night Live in the 1980s.

Southern's dark and often absurdist style of satire helped to define the sensibilities of several generations of writers, readers, directors and film goers. He is credited by journalist Tom Wolfe as having invented New Journalism with the publication of "Twirling at Ole Miss" in Esquire in February 1963. Southern's reputation was established with the publication of his comic novels Candy and The Magic Christian and through his gift for writing memorable film dialogue as evident in Dr. Strangelove, The Loved One, The Cincinnati Kid, and The Magic Christian. His work on Easy Rider helped create the independent film movement of the 1970s.

Charles Hutchins Hapgood was an American college professor and author who became one of the best known advocates of the pseudoarchaeological claim of a rapid and recent pole shift with catastrophic results.

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy is a physician, researcher, public health expert, and entrepreneur. From 2014 to 2017, he served as the 19th Surgeon General of the United States. His writings have been published in leading medical journals, newspapers and magazines, and his work has been covered extensively in national and international media.

China Keitetsi is a Ugandan activist who has won international renown as a campaigner for the plight of child soldiers. The memoirs of Keitetsi, a former child soldier herself, have been translated into French, German, Japanese, Chinese and other languages.

Sir Fred Hoyle taught mathematics and was Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at Cambride University, and professor-at-large at Cornell University. He is currently the Honorary Resident Professor at both Manchester University and University College, Cardiff. He is the author of several books including Nature of the Universe and Frontiers of Astronomy as well as a number of novels and two volumes of autobiography.

John Elliot was a leading BBC television producer and writer of other distinguished novels.

Mark S. Bonchek has been at the forefront of the digital revolution since receiving Harvard University's first Ph.D. on the topic of social media in 1997. He was the SVP of Communities and Networks for Sears Holdings, COO of Tomorrow Lab for McKinsey and Company, and Founder and CEO of Truman Company. He is now founder and Chief Epiphany Officer of Shift Thinking, where he works with individuals and organisations around the world to help them shift from incremental to exponential growth and achieve transformative change.