David Samuels is a Contributing Editor at Harper's Magazine and a regular contributor to the New Yorker. He writes about forgers, liars, con artists, gangsters, hucksters, demolition men, rap stars, religious visionaries, and other current subjects. The Columbia Journalism Review, the American Scholar, and other national publications have recognized Mr. Samuels as one of the best younger nonfiction writers in America. Mr. Samuels has reported from the Balkans during the conflict in 1994-1995 and from the Middle East, where he has looked at the role of NGOs and private contractors in civil conflicts. Mr. Samuels received his M.A. in History from Princeton University and his B.A. summa cum laude from Harvard University, where he was a Truman Scholar as well as editor of the Harvard Lampoon.