Jack Barranger is a retired professor of Critical Thinking and English at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California. His first book, Knowing When to Quit, became a best-seller in the field of self-help. When he took the problem of people finding themselves in unwanted situations to a deeper level, the book Past Shock was the result. Jack is known to have been one of the most innovative and original college teachers who consistently challenged students in extremely rewarding ways. His books go beyond what he could teach in the classroom except when, on occasion, he could challenge students in Critical Thinking with the many alternative views that he has so carefully researched and explored. With a background in theology combined with an intense desire for the truth, Jack is one of the few pioneers to expose the origins of religion-- origins that were previously shrouded in the past or simply covered up by modern authorities.