ALTHOUGH THE CHECK FORGER HAS BEEN CALLED A PROFESSIONAL, A CRAFTSMAN, AND A COMMON THIEF, THE AUTHOR'S POSITION IS TO TREAT HIM SIMPLY AS A HUMAN BEING. IN THE UNITED STATES $400 MILLION TO $1 BILLION ARE LOST ANNUALLY TO CHECK WRITERS. CHECK FORGERY INCLUDES THE PASSING OF NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS AND THE MANUFACTURE OF NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS STOCKS AND BONDS. CHECK-FORGING BEHAVIOR CAN EXTEND FROM THE UNINTENTIONAL OVERDRAWING OF AN ACCOUNT TO BELONGING TO A SOPHISTICATED FORGERY RING THAT PASSES SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF BAD CHECKS OVER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. THIS BOOK TRACES A SPECIFIC TYPE OF CRIMINAL CAREER DRAWN FROM VARIOUS INDIVIDUAL CAREERS. CHECK FORGERS ARE SHOWN TO SHARE COMMON FEATURES, AND VERY OFTEN, THESE FEATURES ARE SHARED ALSO BY LEGITIMATE BUSINESSMEN AND PROFESSIONALS SO THAT IT CANNOT BE STATED THAT CHECK FORGERS ARE SOCIOCULTURAL ABERRATIONS ON THE BASIS OF THESE COMMON FEATURES. THE CHECK FORGER, HOWEVER, POSSESSES A WORLD VIEW AND AN APPROACH TO THIS VIEW THAT IS SYSTEMATICALLY AS JUSTIFIABLE TO HIM AS THAT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE SOCIETY IN WHICH HE LIVES AND HIS PLACE IN THAT SOCIETY. BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS CONCERNED WITH THE CAREER OF THE CHECK WRITER IT ALSO INVOLVES THE CAUSES OF FORGERY, ITS TECHNIQUES, AND PREVENTION, ALTHOUGH THESE ASPECTS ARE NOT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED. FOUR SOURCES WERE USED FOR THE BOOK: THE EXISTING LITERATURE ON THE SUBJECT; INTERVIEWS WITH NUMEROUS CONVICTED CHECK WRITERS; INTERVIEWS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY WITH RETIRED AND ACTIVE CHECK WRITERS, AND CHECK-PASSING DEMONSTRATIONS WITHIN LEGAL LIMITS. (MODIFIED AUTHOR ABSTRACT - KJM).