MICK FINLAY was born in Glasgow but left as a young boy to live in Canada and then England. Before becoming an academic, he ran a market stall on Portobello Road and has worked as a tent hand in a traveling circus, a butcher's boy, a hotel porter, and in various jobs in the NHS and social services. He teaches in a psychology department, and has published research on political violence and persuasion, verbal and nonverbal communication, and disability. He now lives in Brighton with his family.