WILLIAM SHURTLEFF and AKIKO AOYAGI spent their formative years on opposite sides of the Pacific, in California and Tokyo respectively. Bill and Akiko began collaborating in 1972, doing research and writing books about soyfoods. They worked together for six years in East Asia, mainly in Japan, studying with top soyfoods researchers, manufacturers, nutritionists, historians, and cooks. William is currently the director of the Soyfoods Center, which he and Akiko founded in 1976, and lives in Lafayette, California. A freelance illustrator and graphic designer, Akiko lives and owns her own art business in Walnut Creek, California.