Sandra Mackey — Middle East observer. This widely respected journalist has covered the Middle East since the oil boom of the 1970s.  She’s written books about the Saudis, Lebanon, the Arab world, Iran and now The Reckoning about Iraq.  Ms. Mackey has written hundreds of articles for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Washington Post, and she is a frequent commentator on the Middle East for CNN, “Nightline,” “ABC Evening News with Peter Jennings,” the BBC, CBS, NPR and Monitor Radio. [261-219]

John Maguire — President Emeritus, Claremont Graduate University. Dr. Maguire is Senior Fellow at the Institute for Democratic Renewal and Senior Consultant for Project Change, a joint anti-racism venture. A lifelong participant in Americaâs struggle for justice, John Maguire was a ãFreedom Riderä in the 1960s and close to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Maguireâs distinguished academic career includes two Fulbright Scholarships, academic grants and awards, a host of publications and recognition from major social, civic, service and professional organizations and he sits on a wide variety of boards and foundations. He earned degrees from Washington & Lee and Yale Universities. [257-215]

Howard Mansfield — cultural observer. A writer, Mr. Mansfield is author of The Same Ax Twice: Restoration and Renewal in a Throwaway Age, Skylark, In the Memory House and Cosmopolis. [217-215]

Howard Mansfield(2) — essayist and reporter.  Known for unusual and thought-provoking insights, Mr. Mansfield is author of five books including The Bones of the Earth, The Same Ax Twice and In the Memory House. He contributes to publications including the “New York Times,” “American Heritage” and “Historic Preservation.” He and his writerly wife Sy Montgomery are known in their home state of New Hampshire for many things, including the fame gained by their late pig, 750 pound Christopher Hogwood. [421-286]

Hugh Masekela — musician/freedom fighter. Audiences around the world have been riveted by Hugh Masekela’s performances for more than forty years. His 40 albums have together sold more than five million recordings. He played a key role in bringing South Africa’s music and struggle against apartheid to the world. Mr. Masekela tells his remarkable story in Still Grazing:  The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, in collaboration with D. Michael Cheers, who teaches at the University of Mississippi. [284-242]

Mary Ann Mason — Dean of the Graduate Division, University of California, Berkeley, and historian. Dr. Mason is a professor of law and social welfare at UC, Berkeley. In addition to her law degree, she earned a PhD in American social history. Her scholarly work on the family includes From Father’s Property to Children’s Rights and The Equality Trap.  She is editor and contributor to All Our Families: New Policies for a New Century with the Berkeley Family Forum. [267-225]

Walter E. Massey, Ph.D. — President, Morehouse College. Former director of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Massey was provost and senior V-P/academic affairs of the University of California where he oversaw the U.S. Department of Energyâs National Laboratories; V-P/Research at the University of Chicago and director of the Argonne National Lab; and dean of the college and full professor of physics at Brown University. A Morehouse graduate, Dr. Massey has a masterâs and Ph.D. in physics and has studied quantum liquids and solids. Widely honored, he is active on national corporate and foundation Boards and national/international organizations. He grew up in Hattiesburg, MS. [229-187]

Frances Mayes — Writer. In addition to her enormously successful Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany, Ms. Mayes is a poet and the author of The Discovery of Poetry, in addition to five books of poems. She adds novels to her repertoire with Swan, which brings together elements of her American homes and her beloved Italy. [250-208]

Donald McCaig — Civil War novelist. McCaig, raised in the North, has written a "Confederate masterpiece," Jacob's Ladder. This conversation was recorded in the apartment in Atlanta's Margaret Mitchell House where Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind. [110-64]

David McCullough — historian. Mr. McCullough won the Pulitzer Prize for the national bestseller, Truman. With five additional historical works to his credit, he is also author of the bestselling John Adams. [220-180]

Roger McGuinn — musician, Rock & Roll Music Hall of Fame member. A staple of the New York and Los Angeles music scene even before founding the Byrds -- one of the most influential bands of the 60s -- with Gene Clark and David Crosby. Mr. McGuinn continues to tour the world as a solo artist, as he has since 1973, frequently collaborating with other music legends including Bob Dylan. Mr. McGuinnâs distinctive style, impressive musicianship, familiarity with the entire musical spectrum and eagerness to share his gifts has earned him legions of faithful fans around the world and across four generations. His latest CD is "Roger McGuinn, Treasures from the Folk Den" which celebrates his roots in folk music along with legendary guests including Pete Seeger. [228-186]

William McDonough — architect, advocate for "The Next Industrial Revolution," founding principal of internationally recognized design firm William McDonough + Partners. Mr. McDonough, a leader in sustainable development since 1977, helped launch the ãgreen buildingsä movement. His award-winning projects for Gap Inc., Nike, Herman Miller, and Oberlin College set new standards for design quality, environmental sensitivity and functional effectiveness. He is also a professor of architecture and of business administration at the University of Virginia. Among a multitude of awards, he received the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development from President Clinton in 1996. [195-153]

William C. McGrew — zoologist and anthropologist. Dr. McGrew has done extensive laboratory research as well as field research across Africa, beginning with Jane Goodall in Gombe in the early 1970s. He concentrates on chimpanzee populations and their elementary technology making and using tools. He is professor of both anthropology and zoology at Miami University of Ohio. [156-112]

T.H. Frank McKenna — Canadian Ambassador to the United States of America. Appointed Ambassador March 8, 2005, T.H. Mr. McKenna has had wide experiences, beginning as an illustrious lawyer.  He became a Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in 1982, leading his party to power in 1987.  Following 2 successive election victories, he left provincial politics, honoring his promise to limit his term to 10 years. He became Counsel to Atlantic Canada’s largest firm and a leading mergers and acquisitions firms and was appointed to Canada’s Security Intelligence Review Committee. In 2002, Mr. McKenna and his wife bought Glenwood Kitchen Cabinets, now run by their son. [396-275]

Robin Meyers — minister and Christian activist. In Why the Christian Right is Wrong: A Minister’s Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future, Rev. Dr. Meyers calls Americans to reclaim moral authority from "American fascists." Extreme right-wing "neo-Christian" politicians and fundamentalists have captured the Republican Party with devastating consequences, he says, offering Christians ways to reclaim Jesus and citizens ways to reclaim the nation. Dr. Meyers is a United Church of Christ minister in Oklahoma City, OK, writes a regular newspaper column for The Christian Century and is a professor of rhetoric at Oklahoma City University. [449-300]

Penny Mickelbury — mystery novelist. Author of the Carole Ann Gibson mysteries, Ms. Mickelbury began her writing career in journalism in 1970 in Athens, GA, where she was the Banner-Herald's first Black reporter. She was a political reporter for the ABC-TV affiliate in Washington, D.C. She considers herself, above all things, a playwright. [165-121]

Janine Misdom — Market Analyst. By talking with leaders and "visionaries," Misdom explains how alternatives cultures -- especially youthful ones -- are creating markets and life-styles in our consumer society. [87-39]

Melanie Mitchell — computer scientist. One of the world’s leading practitioners of and authority on genetic algorithms using in the study of complex systems, Dr. Mitchell has been a Research Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, a staff scientist in Biophysics at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and now on the faculty of Oregon Health & Science University. She continues as an external faculty member of the Santa Fe Institute. Dr. Mitchell is the author of An Introduction to Genetic Algorithms. [167-123]

Robert A. G. Monks(1) — is the world's most prominent -- some say feared -- shareholder activist. He is founder and Principal of LENS Inc., an investment fund which poorly performing companies and uses active shareholder participation to turn them around. He founded the leading corporate governance firm, has served on the board of a dozen publicly held companies, was head of The Boston Trust and has served in the federal government. A biography of Mr. Monks is title A Traitor to His Class:  Robert A.G. Monks and the Battle to Change Corporate America.  [120-75]

Robert A.G. Monks(2) — venture capitalist, shareholder activist, lawyer, and author most recently of Corpocracy: How CEOs and the Business Roundtable Hijacked the World's Greatest Wealth Machine -- And How to Get It Back. He’s founded a number of investment funds and asset management companies, started Institutional Shareholder Services, the environmental research company Trucost, and The Corporate Library. He’s served on the board of a dozen publicly-held companies; headed Boston Trust; and held several influential government positions in the Reagan Administration. In addition to Corpocracy, Mr. Monks also wrote The Emperor’s Nightingale, Reel and Rout, coauthored Watching the Watchers and Power and Accountability with Nell Minow.  [507-323]

Sy Montgomery — naturalist. With a keen observer's eye, a deep commitment to the natural world and a startling fearlessness, Ms. Montgomery shares her adventures as she does in her books -- from the Amazon in Journey of the Pink Dolphins, from India and Bangladesh in Spell of the Tiger and with our primate cousins in Walking with the Great Apes. She also writes for the Boston Globe. [210-168]

Sy Montgomery(2) — naturalist, explorer and writer. The Good, Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood, a best-seller, focuses on the importance of family and home as Ms. Montgomery continues in her quest to give humans a better understanding of our deep connections to all life. Her books for adults include Journey of the Pink Dolphins, Spell of the Tiger and Search for the Golden Moon Bear; for children the award-winning The Snake Scientist, The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans, The Tarantula Scientist and Encantado: Pink Dolphin of the Amazon. Also a newspaper columnist, documentary scriptwriter and radio commentator, she and her husband, writer Howard Mansfield, make their home in New Hampshire. [498-316]

Thomas Moore — author and lecturer. A former monk and professor of religion and psychology, Moore has just added The Soul of Sex to his five prior books on spiritual matters which include Care of the Soul and The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life. [118-74]

Greg Mortenson — humanitarian and educator. The Central Asia Institute, of which Mr. Mortenson is Executive Director, emerged out of this former mountaineer’s experiences in Pakistan and now Afghanistan, repaying the kindness of local people who cared for him after Mr. Mortenson’s failed attempt to summit K2 in 1993. He tells is powerful story of building peace, one school at a time, in Three Cups of Tea. Educating girls as well as boys, the Central Asia Institute has now established more than fifty schools in some of the most remote places on earth. When not in Central Asia, Mr. Mortenson and his family live in Montana.

Jeff Moss — Poet and Song Writer. Moss is one of the original creators of Sesame Street. Parents and children alike have made his stories in verse and poetry collections (including The Butterfly Jar and The Other Side of the Door) into best-sellers.

The Motley Fools! — Wall Street Wizards, David and Tom Gardner. The Brothers Gardner are founders of The Motley Fool Online and authors of The Motley Fool Investment Guide. They're convinced the stock market is much less complicated than most of us think and that ordinary people can reap rewards in it. Their on-line financial site is the most successful on the Internet (more than 15 million users per month,) they are syndicated newspaper columnists and have now added a workbook to their best selling investment guide. [90-42]

Michael Murphy — Co-founder of the Esalen Institute. Reminds us of Esalen's powerful impact on America in the 1960's and tells of the spiritual adventurer in his golfing classic Golf in the Kingdom and its sequel. [73-25]

Nancy Nahra & Willard Sterne Randall — historians. Many of the people who were crucial to shaping America have long been forgotten. Randall and Nahra bring them back to life, telling stories of Forgotten Americans while drawing our attention to historical realities that continue to shape our present and future. [129-77]

David Nasaw — historian and biographer. A best-selling author of biographies, Professor Nasaw is also Distinguished Professor of History and Director for the Humanities at the City University of New York Graduate Center. His Andrew Carnegie joins The Chief, Professor Nasaw's best-selling biography of William Randolph Hearst, winner of the Bancroft Prize for History and more. Professor Nasaw writes for The New Yorker, The Nation", Condé Nast Traveler, the London Review of Books, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and others. [461-308]

Peter W. Nathanielsz — prenatal researcher. A babyâs environment in the womb rivals the importance of that babyâs genetic structure in shaping life after birth, reports Dr. Nathanielsz in his latest book, Life in the Womb:  The Origin of Health and Disease. An obstetrician with three doctorates from Cambridge University, Dr. Nathanielsz's international lectures include those as a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar. He is regularly featured in print and electronic media in Britain, America, Germany, Australia and Canada, as well as among young people, reporting on his and others' leading edge science. [137-93]

Don Oberdorfer — Journalist, former diplomatic correspondent for the Washington Post. Writing "contemporary history," Oberdorfer brings into focus the potentially critical roles North Korea and, more generally, the Pacific Rim play on the world's stage.

David Orr — environmental educator. Known for his pioneering work on environmental literacy and campus ecology, Professor Orr is Director of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College. He is currently focused on ecological design, providing the inspiration and leadership for the architecturally revolutionary Lewis Center for environmental studies at Oberlin, considered ãthe most remarkableä of a new generation of college buildings. Author of Earth in Mind and Ecological Literacy, and two in press, Dr. Orr serves is on a number of boards. His many awards include a National Conservation Achievement Award by the National Wildlife Federation. [193-151]

Riki Ott, Ph.D. — marine biologist & toxicologist. Dr. Ott presents a new understanding of oil’s toxicity to humans and wildlife in her book, Sound Truth and Corporate Myth$: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.  Dr. Ott presents evidence for long-term and continuing effects from the 1989 catastrophe, when Exxon’s “Exxon Valdez” spilled between 11 and 40 millions gallons of oil into the pristine Prince William Sound, Alaska. Dr. Ott is active in her community, has testified often before Congress and the Alaska State Legislatiure, has received state and national recognition for her work and is also author of Alaska’s Copper River Delta. [377-268]