Clive Cussler is the author of more than fifty books in five bestselling series, including Dirk Pitt, NUMA Files, Oregon Files, Isaac Bell, and Fargo. His life nearly parallels that of his hero Dirk Pitt. Whether searching for lost aircraft or leading expeditions to find famous shipwrecks, he and his NUMA crew of volunteers have discovered more than seventy-five lost ships of historic significance, including the long-lost Confederate submarine Hunley, which was raised in 2000 with much press publicity. Like Pitt, Cussler collects classic automobiles. His collection features more than eighty examples of custom coachwork. Cussler lives in Arizona and Colorado.

Jack Du Brul is a graduate of the Westminster School and George Washington University. Du Brul has climbed Masada at noon, swam in the Arctic Ocean off Point Barrow, explored war-torn Eritrea, camped in Greenland, and been gnawed on by piranhas in the Amazon River. He lives in Burlington, Vermont.