H.W. Brands was born Henry William Brands in Oregon. He graduated from Stanford University in 1975 with a B.A. in history, and from Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon. He went on to earn his graduate degree in mathematics and history in Oregon and Texas. He taught at Vanderbuuilt University and Texas A&M University before he joined the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin. He acquired the title of Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History at the U of Texas. He specializes in American History and politics, with books including Traitor to His Class, Andrew Jackson, The Age of Gold, the First American, and TR. While several of his books have been best sellers, two of… them - Traitor to His Class and The First American were finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He lectures often on historical and current events and he can be seen and heard on national television and radio programs.
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. is renowned as a historian, a public intellectual, & a political activist. He served as a special assistant to President John F. Kennedy; won two Pulitzer Prizes, in 1946 for "The Age of Jackson" & in 1966 for "A Thousand Days," & in 1998 was the recipient of the National Humanities Medal. He lives in New York City.