James Nelson began studying Russian in 1960 as a military linguist and has never stopped. He has about six years’ residence in Russia and the former Soviet Union in various capacities. He has a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures and taught Russian for many years in both civilian and military programs. In 1994-95 he interpreted at seminars at the George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch, Germany as well as in other assignments. Since 2000 he has concentrated on translating books, fiction and non-fiction, from Russian into English, including a huge historical novel about Genghis Khan soon to be published.