Samuel Willard Crompton has written numerous books on war and its side effects, including Visible Ink Press’s The Handy Civil War Answer Book, 100 Battles That Shaped World History, and 100 Military Leaders Who Shaped World History, the latter two by Bluewood Books. Crompton is also a major contributor to the 24-volume American National Biography, which is expected to stand as the premier American biographical reference for the next 50 years. He is a specialist in the French and Indian Wars and has served as a talking head for the Military Channel on its First Command program. Crompton teaches history at Holyoke Community College. He has never served in the military, but his father was an American GI in France, and his great uncle died in the last stages of World War I.