To date, Alexander McCall Smith has written more than 60 books, including everything from children's stories to legal textbooks, but he is best known for his delightful series, No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, featuring the African sleuth, Precious Ramotswe. The series has now been translated into 39 languages and has sold over 7 million copies worldwide. McCall Smith was born in what is now Zimbabwe, and educated there and in Scotland. He returned to Africa to establish a new law school at the University of Botswana in Gaborone, the setting of the No. 1 Ladies series. For many years he was Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. In addition to his literary activities, he is a past Vice Chairman of the Human Genetics Commission of the United Kingdom and Chairman of the British Medical Journal Ethics Committee. In 2007, he was named a Commander of the British Empire for his services to literature.