I would like to thank my agent, Nicholas Ellison, for his initial belief in Surfing the Himalayas. My editor at St. Martin’s Press, James Fitzgerald, for his continued support and good sense of humor. Louis Simpson, Ph.D., who taught me that critical method and poetry are not at odds with each other. Vayu the dog, my constant companion, to whom this book is dedicated. Master Fwap, the Oracle of Nepal, and all of the extraordinary Buddhist, Hindu, and Taoist masters I have had the opportunity to study with.
In addition, I would like to thank my martial arts and scuba diving instructors for teaching me the Tao of high-performance athletics, and all of the other wonderful teachers I have had throughout the course of my life who have opened the doorways for me to the worlds of music, higher mathematics, computer science, and a myriad of other subjects.