Geoffrey C. Ward is a historian and biographer and the author of seventeen books. He won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1989 and the Francis Parkman Prize in 1990. He is also the winner of seven Emmys and two Writers Guild of America Awards for his work for public television. He lives in New York City.

Ric Burns, founder of Steeplechase Films, produced and co-wrote The Civil War. He is best known for his Emmy and DuPont Award-winning PBS documentary series, New York. He has made many award-winning films for public television, including Coney Island, The Donner Party, The Way West, Ansel Adams, Eugene O'Neill, Andy Warhol, and American Ballet Theatre: A History.

Ken Burns's films include The Roosevelts, The National Parks, The War, Jazz, Baseball, and The Civil War, which was the highest-rated series in the history of American public television. His work has won numerous prizes, including Emmy and Peabody Awards, two Academy Award nominations, and a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award. He lives in Walpole, New Hampshire.