Art grew up in the invigorating rural life of the 1950s and 1960s in Montana. He served in the U.S. Navy as a Vietnamese linguist/cryptologist at sea and with Army at Bien Hoa. Art has spent years studying Vietnams culture and history. Ten years in Vietnam, he lives with his wife and daughter in Nha Trang. Arts knowledge is enhanced by his father-in-law, an artillery officer in the North Vietnamese Army and a guerrilla fighter against the French. Grandma sat AA guns as a civilian defending against American air strikes. Art approaches Vietnam history from both U.S. and Vietnamese perspectives. Holding a BA in History/Political Science and a Juris Doctor, Art enjoyed several years as a university professor.