Simon Winchester has written works based on his travels through Africa, India and Hong Kong, including The River at the Center of the World (1996), about his trip along the Yangtze River. He has also written The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, The Alice Behind Wonderland and served as the Asia-Pacific editor for Conde Nast Traveler. He lives in Massachusetts and in the Western Isles of Scotland. His title The Men Who United the States: America's Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible made The New York Times Best Seller List in 2013.
Dwight Jon Zimmerman began his career in publishing at Marvel Comics, where he held a variety of editorial positions. In 1992, he became executive editor of Topps Comics. His first book, First Command: Paths to Leadership, was published in 2005. His other books include The Hammer and the Anvil, The Book of War, The Book of Weapons, The Vietnam War: A Graphic History, and Tecumseh: Shooting Star of the Shawnee. He has also adapted books for young readers by numerous authors including Dee Brown, James McPherson, and Bill O'Reilly.