Professor Robert O'Neill, AO D.Phil. (Oxon), Hon D. Litt. (ANU), FASSA, is the Series Editor of the Essential Histories. His wealth of knowledge and expertise shapes the series content and provides up-to-the-minute research and theory. Born in 1936 an Australian citizen, he served in the Australian Army, and has held a number of eminent positions in history circles, including Chichele Professor of the History of War at All Souls College, Oxford, and Chairman of the Board of the Imperial War Museum and the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London. He is the author of many books including works on the German Army and the Nazi Party, and the Korean and Vietnam wars. Now based in Australia on his retirement from Oxford he is the Director of the Lowy Institute for International Policy and Planning Director of the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.
Dale Dye enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1964 and served in Vietnam, surviving 31 major combat operations. He emerged from Southeast Asia highly decorated, and rose to the rank of Master Sergeant before he was chosen to attend Officer Candidate School. Dye founded Warriors, Inc, the leading military consultancy to motion pictures and television shortly after retiring from the Marine Corps and his firm has worked on more than fifty movies and TV shows including several Academy Award and Emmy winning productions.