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Dominique Jacob Smith, MD, FACOG College: Northwestern University Evanston, IL Medical School: Washington University St. Louis, MO Residency: Cook County Hospital Chicago, IL Academic Appointment: Assistant Professor of OB/GYN Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA Certification: Board Certified by The American College of OB/GYN In Practice Since: 1996

George has been a dedicated student of Theosophy for more than 25 years.

Alim Qasimov and his daughter Fargana exemplify the explosive artistic energy that results when a powerful musical model ignites the spark of young talent. “To be a musician, there has to be a fire burning in you,” explained the elder Qasimov. “It’s either there or it isn’t. I’m convinced that if young people have this spark—call it inspiration, call it spiritual fire – they can perform any kind of music. It could be pop, folk, or classical, but whatever it is, they’ll stand out.” Fargana Qasimova’s talent gravitated naturally toward the music she heard from her father: Azerbaijani classical music, known as mugham, and the repertoire of popular bardic songs sung by ashıqs—singer-songwriters who might be considered modern-day troubadours. Mugham may be performed in a purely instrumental form, but the performance medium most favored among Azerbaijanis is the voice. Vocalists typically perform the lead role in a trio that also includes tar and kamancha as well as a frame drum (daf) played by the vocalist. This trio style of performance provided the starting point for Alim Qasimov’s innovative treatment of mugham.

Patrick O’Donnell is the critically acclaimed author of *Beyond Valor*, which won the Colby Circle Award for Outstanding Military History, as well as *Into the Rising Sun*, *Operatives*, *Spies*, and *Saboteurs*, *We Were One: Shoulder to Shoulder With the Marines Who Took Fallujah*, and most recently *The Brenner Assignment*. As a combat historian, O’Donnell was the only civilian to spend three months in Iraq in uniform and conduct oral histories of our troops in battle. He literally fought with the marines in Fallujah, was ambushed several times, and dragged a mortally wounded marine from battle. O’Donnell is also the founder of the Drop Zone (www.thedropzone.org), an award-winning web site dedicated to preserving the oral histories of veterans.

John Heilemann is the national political correspondent and columnist for New York magazine. An award-winning journalist and author of Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era, he is a former staff writer for The New Yorker, Wired, and The Economist. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. is the national political correspondent and columnist for New York magazine. An award-winning journalist and author of Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era, he is a former staff writer for The New Yorker, Wired, and The Economist. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Ted Conover is the author most recently of the National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee Newjack: *Guarding Sing Sing*. His work is characterized by his commitment to inhabit the lives of his subjects, from prison guards to illegal immigrants. He currently lives in New York City.

Eric Nelson is chiefly interested in the history of republican political theory, the reception of classical political thought in early-modern Europe, theories of property, and the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. Nelson is the author of *The Greek Tradition in Republican Thought*, and editor of Hobbes's translations of the *Iliad* and *Odyssey* for the Clarendon Edition of the Works of Thomas Hobbes. His work may also be found in *Renaissance Quarterly*, *The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory*, and *The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Philosophy*, among other publications.

Mark Halperin is editor-at-large and senior political analyst for *Time* magazine. He is the author of *The Undecided Voter's Guide to the Next President* and the coauthor of *The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008*. He has covered six presidential elections, including those during his decade as the political director for ABC News. He lives in Manhattan.