The author, most recently, of Blind Descent: The Quest To Discover the Deepest Place on Earth. 

James was:

Introduced to caving in the Pacific Northwest by Dr. William Halliday.
Caved in TAG & Canada.
Born three years after WWII ended. Army brat. 
Great-grandfather rode three years with JEB Stuart.
Father fought in three (count 'em, 3) wars: I, II, and Korea.
Raised in the Eisenhower and McCarthy years. 
Had a typewriter at six and used it. 
When Kennedy was shot: in 10th grade Personal Typing Class. 
Came of age during Viet Nam era. Stayed 1A for a year, never called up. 

Grew up in West Hartford, attended Hall High School, and played nose tackle on a team that beat Conard 32-6
College in Vermont.
Graduate school at Johns Hopkins--MFA with novelist John Barth.
When the Trade Towers collapsed: in Burlington, buying new hockey skates. Saw it happen on the store's TV. 
Jobs: dockmaster, night club manager (booked Emmy Lou Harris and Bruce Springsteen when they were small), big city cop, magazine editor, TV personality, freelance writer, P.R. guy, horse wrangler, ad agency v.p., and book author.