Herbert L. Nichols, Jr., has devoted most of his business and professional life to earth-moving and heavy equipment. A longtime private consultant, he owned his own excavation and grading business in Connecticut for many years. In addition to his widely translated benchmark work "Moving the Earth, " he is the author of "Excavator Operation, Heavy Equipment Repair, " and numerous other books and manuals in the field. He is a member of the American Association of Cost Engineers, the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and the American Welding Society. He lives in Roswell, Georgia.