The author of this book is James Richard Smith, but he is calledRichard, by those who know and like him. This follows a longfamily tradition of the men all having James as a first name andthen being called by their middle name, this being derived fromtheir mother's maiden name. He was born in Falkirk in Scotland,educated at Dollar Academy and thereafter Glasgow University,where he qualified with a medical degree in 1982. After this heundertook a thesis on the interaction of viruses and cervical cancergraduating with an MD from Glasgow University. He hasbeen a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologistsand for the last thirty years, living and working inLondon with the exception of a brief sabbatical in New York. Hecurrently works as a Consultant Gynaecological Surgeon at ImperialCollege, London, based at Hammersmith, Queen Charlotte'sand Charing Cross Hospitals. He also held a Visiting and subsequentlyAdjunct Associate Professorship at New York UniversitySchool of Medicine from 1995 -2020. In addition, he is a Professorof Practice at Imperial College, and Honorary Consultant in Transplantation Surgery at the University of Oxford.
