Thomas Laird was based in Kathmandu, Nepal, for thirty years and now divides his time between there and New Orleans. He has worked as a journalist on Time, Asiaweek and Newsweek. His photography has appeared in two books and more than fifty magazines. His first non-fiction book was Into Tibet: The CIA's First Atomic Spy and His Secret Expedition to Lhasa, his second The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama, was published by Atlantic Books in 2006.