Serena Nanda Serena Nanda is professor emeritus of anthropology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. She has published two anthropological murder mysteries, The Gift of a Bride: A Tale of Anthropology, Matrimony, and Murer, a novel set in an Indian immigrant community in New York City, and Assisted Dying: An Ethnographic Murder Mystery on Florida's Gold Coast. Her other published works include Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India, winner of the 1990 Ruth Benedict Prize; American Cultural Pluralism and Law; Gender Diversity: Crosscultural Variations; and a New York City guidebook, 40 Perfect New York Days: Walks and Rambles In and Around the City. She has always been captivated by the stories people tell and by the tapestry of human diversity. Anthropology was the perfect way for her to immerse herself in these passions, and, through teaching, to spread the word about the importance of understanding both human differences and human similarities.