Steven J Zaloga was born in 1952, received his BA in history from Union College, and his MA from Columbia University. He has published numerous books and articles dealing with modern military technology, especially armoured vehicle development. His main areas of interest are military affairs in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in World War II, and American armoured forces.Michael Welply studied art first in Winnipeg and then in Paris. He began his illustrating career in 1977 and has worked for many publishers in Europe and the United States. He has illustrated over 50 books, ranging from historical work to fantasy and fairy tales.