Brad Hoff served as an active-duty Marine through the early 2000s, watching with alarm the consequences of U.S. action abroad. After leaving the military, he began wandering around the Middle East, eventually adopting Damascus as his second home. After a decade-long teaching career, he turned to independent journalism, last embarking on a reporting trip to Syria at the height of the war. His work has been cited in multiple international publications. He resides in Waco with his wife, Reem, and children Sophia, Emilia, and Justinian. They attend St. Andrew Orthodox Church. Zachary Wingerd, Ph.D., is a senior lecturer in history at Baylor University, where he teaches, among other courses, the history of the United States in Global Perspective. His first publication, Conversations of Modern World History: 50 Voices from 1400 to Present, emphasizes the role and perspective of the individual within a broad historical context. He lives with his wife, Lindsey, and five children, Joshua, Jonathan, Juliana, Genevieve, and Joseph, in Waco, Texas, where they attend St. Andrew Orthodox Church.