Paul Von Ward, born in 1939 on a share-cropper's farm, grew up in post- WW II Florida where he graduated (Phi Beta Kappa) from Florida State University -- then earned two Masters degrees, at FSU and Harvard. Trained in psychology, ordained as a Baptist minister, he became a U.S. naval officer in the Vietnam era -- then appointed a U.S. diplomat by President Johnson. Following 18 years public service overseas and in Washington, DC, he resigned to found an international nonprofit dedicated to cross-cultural understanding and cooperation. He became a leader in the citizen-diplomacy movement leading to Gorbachev's perestoika policies in the former USSR and private American bridges to China and other nations.Paul's most recent book is "We've Never Been Alone: A History of Extraterrestrial Intervention" (2011) is an update of his 2004 book described below. It reframes the current human story of our origins, the basis of supernatural religions, the institutions of kingship and theocratic governments, and provides plausible explanations of our genetic evolution. It explains the basis of previous and present cultural and religious wars. It exposes the reasons why science has failed to incorporate the possibility of other conscious/intelligent beings who have and continue to interact with humans. His first book, "Dismantling the Pyramid" (of government), in 1981 added to the Washington debate on government reform. His multifaceted career and continuing education prepared him to become an interdisciplinary cosmologist and prolific, independent scholar. His 1990's book "Solarian Legacy" (updated and expanded as "Our Solarian Legacy" in 2001) combined current science in many disciplines to develop a "self-learning cosmology" to explain the universe's evolution, including humans. His book "Gods, Genes, & Consciousness" (2004) provides an alternate interpretation of ancient texts to encompass the possibility of nonhuman influences on the history of human development. His book The "The Soul Genome: Science and Reincarnation" (2008) is the first comprehensive scientific analysis of the many areas of empirical evidence that support the concept of reincarnation.Living in the hills of north Georgia, he also writes articles and lectures in the U.S. and abroad.