Captain Peter A. Huchthausen, U.S. Navy (Retired), had a distinguished careerserving both at sea and on land as a Soviet naval analyst and a naval attache in Yugoslavia, Romania, and the Soviet Union. He was the author of three books on the Soviet navy. His works include the bestselling Hostile Waters, October Fury, and Shadow Voyage.

Alexandre Sheldon-Duplaix serves as a researcher in the French Joint HistoricalServices (Service historique de la Defense) inVincennes, France, and as a lecturer on thehistory of the Russian navy at the Defense Staff College in Paris. He worked as a naval analyst for twelve years and has written or cowritten three books published in France on ships, strategy, and politics.