Captain Dale Dye, USMC (Ret) – Special Guest of Honor: Dye was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He graduated as a cadet officer from Missouri Military Academy, but there was no money for college so he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in January 1964. He served in Vietnam in 1965 and 1967 through 1970 surviving 31 major combat operations. He emerged from Southeast Asia highly decorated including three Purple Hearts for wounds suffered in combat. He spent 13 years as an enlisted Marine, rising to the rank of Master Sergeant before he was chosen to attend Officer Candidate School. Appointed a Warrant Officer in 1976, he later converted his commission and was a Captain when he was sent to Beirut with the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in 1982-83. He served in a variety of assignments around the world and along the way managed to graduate with a BA degree in English from the University of Maryland.

DYE worked for a year at “Soldier of Fortune” Magazine when he finally decided to retire in 1984. He spent time in Central America, reporting and training troops in guerrilla warfare techniques in El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica before leaving the magazine in 1985 and heading for Hollywood.

DYE founded Warriors Inc – http://www.warriorsinc.com – the premier military consultancy to film and TV production. He is also an accomplished writer, director and actor. His showbiz resume includes more than fifty productions, many of which have won top awards, such as Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, to name only a few. His most recent film work was the HBO series The Pacific. [For a full list of Mr. Dye’s decorations and work, click on ‘Dale Dye’.]

DYE is scheduled to make a special guest appearance at HISTORICON on Saturday, July 10th, where he will be presenting the following seminars – Hollywood and the Military History: Can’t they get it right? (Sat. 11 AM), and The Making of a Military Miniseries: Band of Brothers and The Pacific (Sat. 4:30 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for “Meet & Greet”, autographs and book signings at the Osprey Publishing booth in the Vendor Hall (see Osprey booth at the convention for details).

René Chartrand – Guest of Honor: Former Chief Curator, Parks Canada, Ottawa, worked for nearly three decades of experience as a curator of specialized in military history in Canada’s National Historic Sites. Mr. Chartrand worked on the development and restoration of most of Canada’s historic forts. He has also been attached to the Department of National Defense by ministerial request. He is also the author of over 30 books dealing on a broad range of military subjects pertaining to the Americas and Western Europe, and is also a lecturer to military, academic and specialized audiences in North America and Europe. Educated in Montreal, Boston, and Nassau, Bahamas, he has carried out extensive research in archives, libraries, museums and historic sites in Canada, the United States, France, England, Spain and Portugal. Currently, Mr. Chartrand acts as a consultant for the development of military historic sites and museums. He also occasionally serves as historical advisor for documentaries. Mr. Chartrand is currently a governor of the Company of Military Historians and its vice president for publications.

Mr. Chartrand will be presenting the following three theme-related seminars: Louis XIV’s Army (Thurs. 7:30 PM); Pirates: From Valued Allies to Hunted Down Terrorists (Fri. 12 PM); Fighting the Good Fight in 17th Century North America (Sat. 1:30 PM); plus he will also be part of a theme panel – From Pike to Bayonet: Battlefield Evolution 1600-99 (Fri. 5 PM). See Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Osprey Publishing booth (see the Osprey Publishing booth at the convention for details).

Col. (Ret.) David Glantz – Guest of Honor: Served for over 30 years in various field artillery, intelligence, teaching and research assignments in Europe and Vietnam; taught at the U.S. Military Academy, Combat Studies Institute, and the U.S. Army War College; founded and directed the U.S. Army’s Foreign (Soviet) Military Studies Office, and established and currently edits The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. Has written or co-authored more than 60 books and self-published studies and atlases, as well as hundreds of articles on Soviet military strategy, intelligence, and deception and the history of the Red (Soviet) Army, Soviet (Russian) military history and WWII.

Col. Glantz is sponsored by the Weider History Group and will be presenting the following series of four WWII Eastern Front seminars: Soviet Operations in Hungary, Oct-Dec 1944 (Thurs. 12 PM); The Soviet Vistula Oder Offensive Operation, Jan-Feb 1945 (Fri. 11 AM); The Soviet East Prussian Offensive Operation, Jan-Feb 1945 (Sat. 12 PM); Soviet Operations in Hungary, Jan-Mar 1945 (Sun. 10:30 AM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Weider History Group booth (see the Weider History Group booth at the convention for details).

Angus Konstam – Guest of Honor: Angus was brought up in the Orkney Islands, off the north of Scotland. At age 18 he joined the Royal Navy as an officer, and sailed the waters of the Caribbean – an area he'd write about later. He then studied history at the Universities of Aberdeen and St. Andrews, where he wrote his Masters thesis on early naval artillery. This research later formed the basis for Sovereigns of the Sea, his groundbreaking history of Renaissance warships.

In 1985, he began working for the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London, becoming a Senior Curator of Weapons. His first Osprey book on The Army of Peter the Great was published in 1993. In 1995, Angus moved to Key West, Florida to become the Chief Curator in the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. It was there that he developed his interest in piracy, and he spent the next decade and a half trying to unravel pirate myth from pirate reality. He spent six happy years in Key West, and wrote several more books, including The History of Pirates, the first of four major works on piracy. He is now regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject. He returned to Britain in 2001, and he now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he is a full-time author and historian.

Angus makes frequent television appearances as a historian, pirate expert and literary spokesman, and he also lectures extensively at literary events both at home and abroad, and is an occasional book reviewer in the press. He had been a wargamer as long as he can remember, and while he games anything from the English Civil War to the Second World War, his “core periods” are all “Horse and Musket” – particularly the Napoleonic War and the Seven Years War. That said, he also admits having a technical love affair with the T-34, HMS Warspite and the Sopwith Camel. [Click on the following link for Angus’ wargaming website Edinburgh Wargames.]

He is the author of almost fifty Osprey books, including The Russian Army of the Seven Years War, Lepanto 1571, Guilford Courthouse 1781, The Forts of Celtic Britain, Pavia 1525 and British Battleships. His “real” books include Sovereigns of the Sea, Piracy: The Complete History, Blackbeard, The World Atlas of Piracy, There was a Soldier: First-Hand Accounts of the Scottish Soldier, Salerno 1943 and The Battle of North Cape. He is currently working on a critical study of General Montgomery’s performance during the Normandy Campaign. As he says, a non-critical one would be much harder to write. [For more information, click on the following for the personal website of Angus Konstam.]

Mr. Konstam will be presenting the following four theme seminars: The Pike’s Last Swansong: Wargaming the Wars of Billy, Jamie & the Sun King (Thurs. 12 PM); Karma and Naval Gunnery: The Anglo-Dutch Wars (Fri. 10 AM); Buccaneering for Pleasure and Profit: The Truth about Henry Morgan (Sat. 2 PM); Bare-Arsed Banditi: The Highland Charge Exposed (Sun. 9 AM); and he will also be part of a theme panel – From Pike to Bayonet: Battlefield Evolution 1600-99 (Fri. 5 PM) – see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Osprey Publishing booth (see the Osprey Publishing booth at the convention for details).

“Uncle Duke” – Duke Seifried – Guest of Honor: Duke is a true living legend of hobby gaming! At age 75 he is not as spry as he once one, but remains active as an artist, designer, sculptor, painter, dioramist, model builder, product developer, game designer, writer, public speaker, musician, music arranger, entrepreneur and gamemaster. He is a member of the Legion of Honor and has received the prestigious Scruby Award from HMGS, and the coveted Hall of Fame “Callie” from Origins (Adventure Gaming Arts and Design); these and numerous other awards attest to the fact that Uncle Duke – as he is affectionately known to every wargamer – is one of the major pioneers and contributors to the success and growth of our hobby.

His “EXTRAVAGANZAS” have often been the headliner at Origins, HISTORICON and GenCon, as well as at countless other shows. His mixing of fantasy and historical into Adventure Gaming (his phrase) created an entirely new class of game, and his massive, stunning dioramas and detailed figurines set the standard for convention presentation. Playing in an Uncle Duke game is considered the highlight of a convention for many attendees.

This summer marks the Master Showman’s 75th Anniversary – his last hurrah, and the End of an Era. Help us bid goodbye to this icon by attending HISTORICON to see and play in fourteen of his best and most popular game subjects all at one time in one place; see the Events (PEL) link at left for full details after May 14th.

Click here to see some of Duke's EXTRAVAGANZAS!

[For those interested in purchasing any of Duke's games, please click on the following link for Duke's Collections.]

The following are some of the notable authors, game designers and other Hobby VIPs (in alphabetic order), who are hosting seminars – and many are also hosting games – at this year’s convention.

Dr. Michael Barrett: A retired brigadier general in the US Army Reserve, and a professor of history at The Citadel, where he has taught for over 30 years. Author of Operation Albion: The German Invasion of the Baltic Islands and co-author of Clausewitz Reconsidered; currently at work on a book on the Romanian Campaign from which his seminar comes about – The Austro-German Romanian Campaign of 1916 (Fri. 5 PM) ; see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Bruce Bassett-Powell: Born in London in 1947, and educated at schools in Kent and Sussex. After serving in the Royal Artillery, he lived in East Africa, South Africa and Finland before coming to the U.S. in the mid-1970s. He worked for some time in the packaging industry before starting his own furniture import and distribution company in 1987 that he ran for fourteen years. He is married and now lives in Texas where he is a consultant to the furniture industry. He has had a passion for military history since his youth and has taken a particular interest in the study and illustration of military uniforms. He has written and illustrated several books on the subject and with his business partner is currently running Uniformology, a military publishing company with a focus on military uniforms.

Mr. Bassett-Powell is being sponsored by the Casemate Publishing and will be presenting a seminar about the Armies of Bismark’s Wars, by Author and Artist (Thurs. 11 AM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Casemate Publishing booth (see booth at the convention for details).

John Beakes: Is co-author with Dr. Jim Piecuch of Cool Deliberate Courage; John Eager Howard in the American Revolution, the definitive study of John Eager Howard's Revolutionary War career. A graduate of Annapolis and a former nuclear submarine officer, Mr. Beakes has been a senior executive in technology services firms for the past thirty years. He is currently the President of Operational Performance Solutions, Inc. of Westminster, Maryland. Mr. Beakes will be presenting a seminar on Cool Deliberate Courage – John Eager Howard at Cowpens and Guilford Court House (Thurs. 12 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Larry Bond: Larry co -wrote Red Storm Rising with Tom Clancy, a New York Times bestseller, which has been used at the Naval War College. He has written six novels under his own name: Red Phoenix, Vortex, Cauldron, The Enemy Within, Day of Wrath, and Dangerous Ground. He also wrote a novella titled Lash-Up, which appeared in Steven Coonts’ anthology Combat, as well as several published short stories. He is presently working on several new book projects.

Larry co-designed the Admiralty Trilogy series games, which include Harpoon, Command at Sea, and Fear God & Dreadnought. All have won industry awards, with Harpoon (1980) now in its fourth edition and has won the H.G. Wells Award in 1981, 1987, and 1997 as Best Miniatures Game (the only game to win the award more than once!) It is used at the Naval Academy, several ROTC installations, and on several surface ships as a training aid. The computer version won the 1990 Wargame of the Year award from Computer Gaming World; a new version is in development.

After serving in the Navy six years, and two years in the reserves with the Naval Reserve Intelligence Program, he worked as a naval analyst for defense consulting firms in the Washington, DC area. Larry now writes and designs games full-time. An avid wargamer and modeler with 20 years’ experience, Larry was inducted into the GAMA International Hall of Fame in 2004, due to his many award-winning game designs. Mr. Bond will present the following naval seminar: Persian Incursion (Fri. 3 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for full details.

Frank Chadwick: Founded Game Designers' Workshop in 1972, and was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in 1984. Chadwick has more than sixty published games to his credit, including Command Decision miniatures rules, and his Desert Shield Factbook (1991) reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list. He is the current events blogger for the Great History Website. Mr. Chadwick is being sponsored by the Weider History Group and will be presenting the following two seminars: The Physiology of Combat (Thurs. 4:30 PM), and Afghan Update (Fri. 9 AM); see Events (PEL) link at left for full details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Weider History Group booth (see the Weider History Group booth at the convention for details).

Bruce Cohen: A practicing attorney in Dallas, and a Distinguished Graduate with Honors of the Virginia Military Institute and former field artillery officer in the US Army. He received his juris doctor summa cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law and is pursuing a master’s in European Military History at the University of North Texas. Mr. Cohen visited Le Hamel in 2009, when he conducted a small-group battlefield tour of the Ypres Salient and the Somme. He will be presenting the following seminar on this battle: Le Hamel, 4 July 1918 (Thurs. 6 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Paul Davis: Paul has been a student of crime and espionage since he was a 12-year-old aspiring writer growing up in South Philadelphia. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy when he was 17 in 1970, and served on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War. He performed security work as a young sailor and later as a U.S. Defense Department civilian employee. He retired from the Defense Department in 2007 after 37 years of combined military-civilian service.

As a writer he covers crime, espionage, terrorism and the military for newspapers, magazines and Internet publications. He is a contributing editor to Counterterrorism, the Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International (www.iacsp.com/publications.php) and he is a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer (www.philly.com/inquirer). He also writes an online column called “Paul Davis On Crime & Security” (www.businessknowhow.com/security). His web page can be read at http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/site/

Mr. Davis is being sponsored by the Weider History Group and will be presenting the following espionage-related seminar: The U.S. Navy Cold War Traitors and Spies (Thurs. 1 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ at the Weider History Group booth (see the Weider History Group booth at the convention for details).

Peter Dennis: Peter is a well-known British artist, whose works should be especially familiar to history buffs and wargamers alike, as they grace many an Osprey book and rules set!

Peter was born in 1950, and was inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn, and studied illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. A keen wargamer and model maker, he is based in Nottinghamshire, UK.

Mr. Dennis will be presenting the following seminar twice during the convention – Creating An Osprey Battlescene: An Artist at Work (Fri. 9 AM and Sat. 3 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Osprey Publishing booth (see the Osprey Publishing booth at the convention for details).

Simone Drinkwater: Marketing and New Business Director of Casemate, “the fastest-growing military history publisher and distributor”. Simone will host her regular seminar to talk about Casemate in more detail and provide you with exclusive highlights of future publications: Casemate Seminar – Exclusive Insights Into The Military Book World (Fri. 11 AM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

As Casemate are also distributors for a number of other military publishers, including Histoire & Collections, Pen and Sword, Foundry, Andrea Press, Warlord Games and Heimdal, amongst others, you can be sure to find out everything there is to know about the developments of the military book world! If this wasn’t enough, there will also be the chance to find out more about becoming an author, being a military artist and researcher with a guest spot by Bruce Bassett-Powell, and the opportunity to suggest ideas for new titles, become a guest blogger, and even put in your request for any out-of-print books you would like to see reprinted.

Stephen Ede-Borrett: A student of military history for over 30 years, especially the era 1640-88, and was an ECW re-enactor for 20 years (The Sealed Knot) which ended as a Brigade Commander and a member of the Board of Directors.

Author of five works on the English Civil War; primary interest is on the armies and campaigns of the Earl of Essex and the Royalist Oxford Army as well the Regiments of London and also the flags of the period. He is currently writing two new books; one a new history of the 1644 campaign that led to the Second Battle of Newbury (as a follow-up to his book on the Lostwithiel campaign), and the other a history of Edmund Harvey's London Regiment of Horse. He has written numerous articles for various journals and magazines including The Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Military Illustrated, Wargames Illustrated, Miniature Wargames, and Arquebusier - The Journal of the Pike and Shot Society (of which he is currently Chairman). He is also a member of the Flag Research Institute (in the UK) and the Flag Research Center (in the US) as well as a lifelong wargamer and model soldier collector.

Mr. Ede-Borrett will be presenting a theme seminar on The Campaign and Battle of Lostwithiel, July/Aug 1644 (Fri. 1:30 PM), and will also be part of a theme panel – From Pike to Bayonet: Battlefield Evolution 1600-99 (Fri. 5 PM) – see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Pike and Shot Society booth (see booth at the convention for details).

Aaron Elson: Author of four books of oral history of World War II veterans, including Tanks for the Memories: An Oral History of the 712th Tank Battalion, one of the first books about the Americans who fought in tanks in World War II, rather than about the tanks themselves. He founded the web site www.tankbooks.com, and later www.audiomurphy.com, dedicated to presenting the voices of the veterans he's interviewed. Drawing from an archive of some 600 hours of interviews with World War II veterans, he's currently producing a unique series of oral history audiobooks, which will be available in the vendor area at HISTORICON. His material has been used for at least four documentaries that appeared on the History Channel (two episodes of The Color of War and the recent Patton 360 series.) Mr. Elson will be presenting the a seminar on The Campaigns of Marshal Turenne (or What’s a WW2 Oral Historian doing in the 17th Century?) (Thurs. 11 AM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Arthur Etchells III: Has been a miniature figure collector for most of his life. For years he has been a member of the Miniature Figure Collectors of America and involved in their annual shows. While not a wargamer he appreciates painted armies arrayed on the battlefield and has been an attendee at HISTORICON for many decades. A retired chemical engineer, he has always been interested in uniforms, flags and heraldry. He has amassed a large collection of books on the subject. This has led to his presenting several papers at the biannual International Vexillology conferences on the flags of the Finnish Civil War and the Papal Swiss Guard in Sweden and Germany. He also has taught at the University of Delaware and Rowan University, but they were engineering courses. He promises to avoid differential equations where possible! In 2009 he presented a talk at HISTORICON on the history of military flags.

Dr. Etchells will be presenting a follow-up to his seminar at last year’s convention: Forward The Colours, Pt.2 – A History of Military Flags (Sat. 9 AM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Edward Furgol: Graduate of the College of Wooster and the University of Oxford (Pembroke and St. Cross Colleges), and has a strong interest in the heritage industry (author of the Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies, 1639-51, 1990). After working for the Pendle Heritage Centre and Historic Scotland, he became the curator of The Navy Museum, Washington, D.C. in 1987. His professional duties include coordinating the internship and special events programs of the U.S. Navy’s Naval Historical Center. In addition to his expertise in American naval history, he continues to write and speak on early modern British history.

Mr. Furgol will be presenting the following theme seminar: Beating the Odds: Alexander Leslie’s 1640 Campaign in England (Fri. 12 PM), plus he will also be part of a theme panel – From Pike to Bayonet: Battlefield Evolution 1600-99 (Fri. 5 PM) – see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Dr. Michael Gabriel: Professor and Chair of the Department of History at Kutztown University, earned his B.S. at Clarion University, his M.A. at St. Bonaventure, and his Ph.D. at Penn State. He is the author of Major General Richard Montgomery: The Making of an American Hero (2002) and co-editor of Quebec During the American Invasion, 1775-1776: The Journal of François Baby, Gabriel Taschereau, and Jenkin Williams (2005). He is currently researching his third book, tentatively entitled “Or Molly Stark Sleeps a Widow”: The Battle of Bennington, August 16, 1777. Mr. Gabriel will be presenting a seminar on Richard Montgomery and the Other Invasion of Canada, 1775 (Fri. 2 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Prof. John Gill: John (Jack) is a Professor on the faculty of the Near East – South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, part of the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. A former U.S. Army South Asia Foreign Area Officer, he retired as a colonel in 2005, after more than 27 years of active service.

Specializing in military history of the Napoleonic period, his publications include With Eagles to Glory: Napoleon and His German Allies in the 1809 Campaign, A Soldier for Napoleon (editor), and Thunder on the Danube as well as chapters, articles, and papers presented to the Society for Military History, the Consortium on the Revolutionary Era, and the German Studies Association. In his South Asian incarnation, his publications include an Atlas of the 1971 India-Pakistan War, chapters on current Indian and Pakistani political-military affairs, US-Indian relations, and India-Pakistan crisis behavior. He received his BA from Middlebury College in 1977 (double major: history and German) and his MA from The George Washington University in 1987 (international relations).

Prof. Gill is being sponsored by the Casemate Publishing and will be presenting two Napoleonic seminars – Massena’s Last Fight: The Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, 3-5 May 1811 (Fri. 1 PM), and Transition from War to Peace after Wagram: The Battle of Znaim, 10-11 July 1809 (Fri. 4 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Casemate Publishing booth (see booth at the convention for details).

Mike Guardia: Is a young Armor Officer in the U.S. Army currently stationed at Fort Knox, KY, and holds a BA and MA in American History from the University of Houston. Mr. Guardia is being sponsored by Casemate Publishing, and presenting a seminar based on his forthcoming book – American Guerrilla – about A Forgotten Hero of the Pacific War…the Harrowing Tale of Russell Volckmann (Sat. 2 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Casemate Publishing booth (see booth at the convention for details).

John Hill: In the field of tactical wargame designs, few designers have had as much innovative impact as John Hill. In the 1970s, John started his own company, The Conflict Game Company, to design and publish tactical and operational games that broke from traditional wargame mechanics such as Verdun, Overlord, Kasserine Pass, and Bar-Lev. John decided that he preferred to design wargames rather than run a business, so he sold the company to Game Designers’ Workshop and became a freelance wargame designer. From that point on, John’s designs for Avalon Hill, SPI, SDC and others, became noted benchmarks for their innovative approaches to simulating unique tactical situations.

In 1977, John designed Squad Leader for Avalon Hill. Squad Leader broke the mold for how tactical combat was portrayed on the gaming board, and the impact of Squad Leader – which has had more “expansion kits” than any other wargame – is still felt today. Some of John’s awards included being the first freelance wargame designer inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame (1979), along with Charles Roberts and H.G. Wells awards for best tactical wargames (1977, 1983) and the readers of Campaign Magazine selected Squad Leader in 1980 as the “Best Wargame of All Time.” To the historical miniature wargamer, John is best known for his Johnny Reb miniature rules for the American Civil War period. After 25 years, Johnny Reb – now into its third edition – remain as popular as ever.

In the 1980s, John’s flair for innovative tactical simulation brought him to the attention of the Government’s Defense and Intelligence Communities, and for the next 16 years he worked for the government as a senior military analyst. Following a final four year tour at Los Alamos National Laboratory, John retired from classified government work and is currently working with today’s wargame companies to update and republish many of his older designs and to, once again, explore new directions in tactical simulation.

Mr. Hill will be presenting the following seminars: The Imperial Texas (Thurs. 1:30 PM); Interdiction Versus Adaptation in the Korean War (Fri. 2 PM), plus co-hosting (with Dana Lombardy) What Ifs of the American Civil War (Fri. 8 AM), and Was Day 1 at Gettysburg An Avoidable Union Disaster? – A Debate (Sat. 8 AM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Barry Hilton: Is a Scot. Having trained as a scientist he spent his youth on the road with a rock band signed to Warner Brothers. He now travels the world as the UK President of an international consultancy company. His interest in military history and wargaming has been with him since the age of 5.

Although a serious student of World War 2 and the Napoleonic era, Barry’s enduring passion since 1991 has been the period 1620-1721. Inspired by the embryonic military systems of the age, its color and lack of standardization, he has attempted in his own way to raise the profile of a lesser known but fascinating era amongst his gaming peers. Between 1995 and 2007 his vehicle has been exhibition games and articles. He is perhaps best known for his creative work under the name The League of Augsburg. The League has presented spectacular demonstration and participation wargames at scores of conventions in the UK since 1992.

With the release of his rules set Beneath the Lily Banners in 2008 (now in its 2nd edition) a new opportunity arose to spread the word! Speaking of the Nine Years War, he has often observed that its lack of prominence particularly in his homeland is directly related to his country’s lack of success against France. Marlborough is a far more palatable subject for an English speaking audience! The still prominent socio-political legacies of the era not only in the UK, but in other European countries such as Sweden, are of continuing interest to him. The Battle of the Boyne gets fought in Glasgow about four times every year (alluding to the local soccer derby)!

His creative partnership with Virginia based artist, designer and gamer Clarence Harrison has most recently produced Republic to Empire (Wargaming the wars of Napoleon Bonaparte) released in late 2009. They are currently working on a scenario book for The Jacobite Wars 1689-1719 due for release in late summer 2010.

Barry is also creatively involved with Victrix Ltd., having written a brigade level set of Napoleonic rules to accompany their plastics range The March of Eagles. This collaboration will move to the next stage with further projects due for release in 2010.

Communication with the wider Wargames community is through his website and extremely informative forum Fighting Talk. The section covering pike and shot warfare has extensive contributions from some of the hobby’s leading lights from across the world.

Travelling extensively through work has allowed Barry the privilege of visiting large numbers of historical battlefields in Europe and North America. This experience is put to good use in the numerous scenario based articles he contributes for most of the main wargaming magazines over the last 15 years (Battlegames, Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy, Wargames Journal, Historical Miniature Gamer, and a regular contributor to Wargames Illustrated). He tends to avoid writing potted history pieces and concentrates chiefly on scenario creation, rule mechanics and ideas to inspire fellow gamers.

Mr. Hilton will be presenting the following three theme related seminars: The ‘No Win’ Scenario – The Rule Writer’s Perspective on Gaming in the Late 17th Century (Thurs. 2 PM); Table-Top 10: The Ten Best British Battles to Wargame, 1679-92 (Fri. 8 AM); Table-Top 5: Five of the Best British Battles to Wargame from the War of the League of Augsburg, 1688-97 (Sat. 7 PM); plus he will also be part of a theme panel – From Pike to Bayonet: Battlefield Evolution 1600-99 (Fri. 5 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. In addition, during the convention he will also be hosting (with Clarence Harrison) 25mm games using both of his rules sets – Beneath the Lily Banners and The March of Eagles – which you can sign up to play in to try out the rules; see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details after May 14th.

Will Hutchison: Passionate, riveting, impeccable, and meticulous research, history at its best – these are words used to describe the works of Will Hutchison.

Will Hutchison came onto the scene in 2007 with his award-winning debut Follow Me to Glory, a novel of courage and adventure set in the Crimean War of the mid-nineteenth century – historical fiction, yet endorsed by the Crimean War Research Society. This was the first in his Ian Carlyle Series. He followed this success in 2009 by the award-winning sequel, The Gettysburg Conspiracy, bringing his hero into the American Civil War as a British observer who becomes embroiled in a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln during the Gettysburg Address.

Also in 2009, Mister Hutchison completed a five-year photography and historical research project with the internationally acclaimed photographic essay, Crimean Memories: Artefacts of the Crimean War. This amazing reference book is filled with Will Hutchison’s vivid color photographs of Crimean War artifacts, and poignant anecdotes about their history. It is the winner of a 2010 Independent Publisher’s Silver Award.

Will Hutchison is a graduate of Syracuse University, with twenty-six years as an NCO and officer in the US Army and Marine Corps. His time in the military was followed by a career in Federal law enforcement. He has spent his life in interesting and often dangerous pastimes, from leading Marines in Vietnam, to working as an undercover drug agent in Amsterdam with military CID, to serving as a special agent conducting fraud investigations and counter-terrorism initiatives at nuclear plants. He resides in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he pursues his writing and photography, with occasional law enforcement and military consulting projects. As an avocation, he has written and lectured on nineteenth century military history internationally for over twenty years.

Mr. Hutchison will be presenting the following Crimean seminar, with Q&A to follow with a chance to purchase his books: Balaclava: So Where Was The Damned Infantry? (Fri. 3:30 PM); see Events (PEL) link for the HMGS War College for details.

Dana Lombardy: Associate Editor for Armchair General online. Best known for his multiple award-winning Streets of Stalingrad board wargame (three separate editions since first released in 1979), and for his nearly twenty television appearances, including multiple episodes of The History Channel’s “Tales of the Gun” series. Lombardy has contributed as an editor, cartographer, graphic artist and designer on many books, games and magazines, and was Publisher of Napoleon Journal from 1996-2000.

Mr. Lombardy is being sponsored by the Weider History Group and will be co-presenting (with John Hill) the following two seminars: What Ifs of the American Civil War (Fri. 8 AM), and Was Day 1 at Gettysburg An Avoidable Union Disaster? – A Debate (Sat. 8 AM); see Events (PEL) link at left for full details after May 15th.

Peter Mancini: Has spent over 20 years engineering software systems; for the past four years he has been involved with the Intelligence and Security Command of the U.S. Army. His work includes working on fast, highly scalable associative networks, fast, noise-resistant entity extraction, relational search and navigation, entity resolution and host of other technologies currently deployed in the intelligence community. He has taken a special interest in building tools for identifying and locating high value targets such as terrorists, IED factories, cell headquarters as well as countering asymmetric warfare.

Mr. Mancini is being sponsored by the Weider History Group and will be presenting the following seminar: Intelligence Lessons From Iwo Jima (Thurs. 11 AM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Col. (Ret.) Jerry D. Morelock, PhD: A 1969 West Point graduate, Col. Morelock spent 36 years in uniform. He is a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War whose assignments included command and staff positions in the U.S., Germany and Korea. His last (of two) Pentagon assignment was Chief of Russia Branch, Joint Chiefs of Staff, coordinating U.S. policy regarding Russia and the 15 republics of the former Soviet Union.

Col. Morelock’s final active duty tour was Director of the Combat Studies Institute – the history department of the Army’s Command and General Staff College (CGSC), Ft. Leavenworth, KS. In addition to being department head of this outstanding group of two-dozen, world-class military historians, Col. Morelock regularly taught graduate-level history courses, served as a member of the Secretary of the Army’s Military History Advisory Board and was Editor-in-Chief of CGSC Press.

Upon retirement, Dr. Morelock became Executive Director of the Winston Churchill Memorial & Library at Westminster College in Fulton, MO, the site of Churchill’s 1946 “Iron Curtain” speech. Dr. Morelock, a Fellow of the International Napoleonic Society, received his PhD from the University of Kansas and is a prize-winning military historian whose numerous publications include the books, Generals of the Ardennes: American Leadership in the Battle of the Bulge and Great Land Battles From the Civil War to the Gulf War. A Westminster College adjunct professor (history and political science), Dr. Morelock since 2004 has been Editor in Chief of Armchair General magazine, a Chicago Tribune selection as one of its “50 Best” magazines in the world.

Dr. Morelock is being sponsored by the Weider History Group and will be presenting the following three seminars – Armchair General Magazine: An Insider’s View (Fri. 10 AM); Darkest of Times: Omar Bradley’s Battle of the Bulge (Sat. 3 PM); The Bear is Back! – Russia’s New Cold War (Sun. 12 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ at the Weider History Group booth (see the Weider History Group booth at the convention for details).

The Perry Twins – Alan & Michael: Were born in 1961 and brought up in North London. They have been playing wargames since a very early age, rolling marbles to knock figures over! They started sculpting freelance for Games Workshop (GW) in 1978, while still in school, joining the company full time in 1980, and have since become the longest serving employees at GW. Both are married and live in Nottingham; Michael has two daughters.

The Twins started up Perry Miniatures in 2001, after leaving Wargames Foundry for which they had sculpted for 14 years. Perry Miniatures, and for that matter Foundry are/were both hobbies, making figures in their spare time. Alan’s wife Jill runs the company on a day-to-day basis outsourcing the casting and packing. The Twins always work on separate ranges for Perry Minis, although for the first four or so plastic sets they did collaborate. At the time of this writing they have 24 metal ranges on the go, from the 1st Crusade to 1st Sudan War. They started making plastic 28mm figures (the first historical plastics in this scale in the world) in 2008; a big leap for their tiny company. They didn’t know if they would recover the tooling costs, so the first set, American Civil War Infantry, was a bit of an experiment. As it turned out they needn’t have worried as they covered the tooling costs within a month and haven’t looked back since!

They met film director Peter Jackson in 2002, and found they all had the same interest – military history and miniature figurines – and they all just hit it off. At that time Peter was looking for someone to make him some 54mm WW1 ANZAC’s for his private collection, so the Perrys offered their services. After making over 100 of these along with Brian Nelson a GW work colleague they are now working on air crew and pilots for Peter’s new company Wingnut Wings. These will be available in the not to distant future, you can see a preview on www.vintageaviator.com. Peter and Richard Taylor (head of Weta workshop) are always very welcoming when the Perrys travel out to New Zealand once (sometimes twice) a year and give them full rein of the studios and workshops, something that is always humbling. To name but a few of the Perrys’ highlights: appearing in the movie Return of the King and flying in some of Peter’s WW1 aircraft collection. There are many others!

The Twins have published one book, 1st Carlist War, so far for Perry Miniatures, but another is in the works covering the 1st Sudan War 1883-85 (written by Lt. Col. Mike Snook a serving soldier and renowned writer on the subject). The book will bring new light to certain areas of the campaign as Mike has access to a vast collection of source material. Along with Jervis Johnson and Rick Priestley they founded Warhammer Historical, illustrating the first four titles. For about 8 years they play tested Black Powder with Rick and Jervis until it was finally homed into the fine publication it is today. In the past they have illustrated a fair amount of books for Osprey Publishing. Michael was more active in this area…. until his arm fell off!

They both have a passion for military history in all it’s forms; they collect militaria, antique armour and weapons as well as armoured fighting vehicles (i.e., a Stuart Light tank and Bren gun carrier.) The collection of original bits and pieces has always been a big help in reproducing their figure ranges. They have re-enacted since 1980, starting with the English Civil War Society then on to The White Company (now defunct) and the Company Saint George, both highly respected 15th century groups (the latter a Swiss based group). It was at a Company Saint George event in 1987, were we met the LotR artist John Howe who was instrumental in them meeting up with Peter Jackson. Since then they acquired a Stuart M3A1 (which they recently sold to a Dutchman!) and a Bren gun carrier. In the latter they travelled 180 miles across Holland in 2004 for the Arnhem anniversary and excellent adventure.

Michael lost his right hand in 1996, following an accident loading a reproduction cannon during a re-enactment of the Battle of Crecy in France with the White Company. This was a very serious injury for a right-handed model sculptor and illustrator, but he learned to sculpt and paint with his left hand in a couple of weeks.

The Twins normally get to play a historical game at least once a month either at Alan’s house or at John Stallard’s house (of Warlord Games fame), an old mate who lives a mere 500 yards away.

The Twins will be presenting a seminar twice during the convention, about The Perry’s – Two Men, Five Jobs, Three Limbs (Not Including Legs!) (Fri. 6 PM and Sat. 5 PM), and also co-hosting (with John Stallard) a seminar also twice during the convention about Black Powder, Not For Everyone! (Thurs. 10 AM and Fri. 9 AM), which are about the new Black Powder rules; see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. They will also be co-hosting a huge 25mm Napoleonic Peninsular War game using the new Black Powder rules (Sat. 1 PM; co-hosted with Ernie Baker of Architects of War & John Stallard of Warlord Games); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details after May 14th. Plus they will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ at the Age of Glory (Perry Miniatures) booth, and possibly also at the Architects of War and/or Warlord Games booths (there’s two of them, so no doubt they’ll be running around a lot!)

David Rickman: An independent author, historian and illustrator whose works have appeared in exhibits and publications in this country, Canada, Great Britain and Spain. He has published several articles and authored a living history costume manual for California State Parks. His illustrations have appeared in exhibits and publications in this country, Britain and Spain, including nine Osprey Publishing books and the magazines Military Illustrated: Past and Present, Ristre and Military Collector & Historian. He is currently working on articles about pirate dress, Spanish colonial troops in Texas and the Russian Navy fighting Indians in Alaska.

Rickman was born into a military family, lived in Japan as a child, but grew up mostly in northern California. From an early age, he has had an almost equal love of history and art. Finding it hard to settle on a major in college, Rickman graduated with a degree in history from the University of California but decided to abandon plans for graduate school and chose a career in illustration instead. In 1984, Rickman moved to the East Coast to pursue this dream, having already worked on Dover Publications’ series of high-quality coloring books. He admits that his pictures were too detailed to be much fun to color, but found that the work allowed him to combine historical research with illustration. Rickman produced works for Dover such as “Cowboys of the Old West,” “Plains Indians,” and “California Missions.” For a while, he also illustrated children’s textbooks but already knew that his greatest enjoyment came from investigating the past and bringing it to life. Rickman especially enjoys overturning popular ideas about how the past looked. In the years that followed, he researched and illustrated for the National Park Service the ancient Anasazi Indians, Alaska during the Russian Era and Spanish colonists and soldiers. Rickman hopes someday to concentrate on works that he can research, write and illustrate by himself. He is also head of exhibits for Delaware’s state parks system, where he has enjoyed, among other assignments, furnishing an American Civil War-era fortress and planning the restoration of a World War II coast artillery battery with adjacent barracks. Rickman lives in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife, Deborah, an art historian specializing in textiles, costumes and furnishings.

Rickman’s interest in pirate costume grew out of a few coincidences. As an historian, he has studied the clothing worn in Spain and Mexico in the 17th – early-19th centuries. As an illustrator, he has long loved the work of Howard Pyle (1853 – 1911), who was famous for his stories and illustrations of pirates and buccaneers. Pyle was also known for the meticulous research he did for historical illustrations, especially those of early America. Rickman always loved the distinctive way Pyle dressed his pirates, but wondered if it was in any way historical. It then occurred to him that what made Pyle’s pirates so distinctive and the popular image of Gypsies dressed alike in headscarf, earrings and sashes. Why? The connection, he realized, had to be Spain – or at least a popular image of how Spaniards dress. But after years of researching Spanish colonial costume, David knew better. And so his hunt began . . .

Mr. Rickman is being sponsored by Osprey Publishing and will be presenting the following theme seminar about pirates: From the Spanish Main to Hollywood: The Evolution of Pirate Dress, Real and Imagined (Sat. 7 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Osprey Publishing booth (see the Osprey Publishing booth at the convention for details).

Keith Rocco: The highly respected French magazine Uniformes proclaimed Keith Rocco an ”artist in the tradition of Remington and Detaille." Such lofty praise has often been echoed by Rocco's fans, many of whom consider him the most important historical artist working today. In style, subject matter, quality and inspiration, Rocco's work evokes the past masters of historical art, from Meissonier to Howard Pyle. Rocco has continued their legacy, creating visually stunning works that capture the drama of history, recording with care and nuance the details of his own vision. His paintings are in collections both here and in Europe.

Rocco’s newest book – The Civil War Art of Keith Rocco (published by Crimson Books) – will be on sale at HISTORICON, at Rocco’s booth at the convention. His two previous books – On Campaign in the Age of Napoleon and The Soldier’s View (both previously published by Military History Press) – will be on sale at his booth as well, where he will be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signing.

Rocco will be presenting a seminar on Historical Art – Capturing the Past, the Creative Process (Sat. 8 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details . For more information on Rocco and his paintings/prints, visit his web site at: www.keithrocco.com

Ben Rubin: Is currently a graduate student in history at Western Carolina University. His bachelor's degree is from Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana. After completion of his M.A., he hopes to go on for a PhD, and teach history at the collegiate level. His primary research interest is the American Revolution, particularly in the southern colonies and encompassing all military, political and social history. Mr. Rubin will be presenting a seminar on A Minor and Largely Forgotten Revolutionary Battle – Fishing Creek, 1780 (Sat. 9:30 AM).

Chris Scott: Military Historian and published author. Chris has several definitive works on major battles of the both the English Civil Wars and the War of Spanish Succession to his credit, and he has been a wargamer since first joining Don Featherstone’s Hill Lane group at the tender age of 16. He has also been involved in English Civil War re-enactment, having served in the ranks and been an officer of pike, musket, colonel and finally Lord General of the Roundhead Association in the UK, having about 800 men to command in mock period battles. Chris was Director of Education for the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London and Leeds, and is Trustee of the Battlefields Trust, and founder member of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides.

Mr. Scott will be presenting the following three theme seminars: The Monmouth Rebellion of 1685 (Thurs. 5 PM); Wargaming the English Civil War (Fri. 11 AM); The Battle of First Newbury 1643 (Sat. 3 PM); plus he will also be part of a theme panel – From Pike to Bayonet: Battlefield Evolution 1600-99 (Fri. 5 PM); s ee Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Kyle Sinisi: Is a professor of history at The Citadel. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1984 with a BA in history. Following four years of active duty service in the US Army, he attended Kansas State University where he earned both the MA and Ph.D. Professor Sinisi came to The Citadel in 1994.

Professor Sinisi teaches a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate courses at The Citadel, but he concentrates his offerings on the military and political histories of the War for Southern Independence and World War II. He is a two-time recipient of the James A. Grimsley Award, The Citadel’s annual award for excellence in undergraduate teaching. Professor Sinisi currently serves as the faculty advisor to the cadet honor committee.

Professor Sinisi is the author of Sacred Debts: State Civil War Claims and American Federalism, 1861-1880 (Fordham University Press, 2003) and a co-editor of Warm Ashes: Issues in Southern History at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century (University of South Carolina Press, 2003). Professor Sinisi is currently at work on a book-length manuscript that examines Sterling Price’s Confederate invasion of Missouri in 1864.

Professor Sinisi will be presenting a seminar on The Battle of Secessionville: Defense of Charleston, 16 June 1862 (Thurs. 7 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

John Stallard: John found himself doomed to be in the wargames industry his entire adult working life, so far trapped like the Ancient Mariner (and he is ancient) lashed to the wheel and knowing only the wacky world of model soldiers. Born in Cardiff many years hence, John joined Games Workshop (GW) as a callow youth, and stayed there for 27 years, learning the ropes and working his way up the slippery pole to become Sales Director. He later had a four-year stint running the GW USA business, a time he enjoyed immensely, only to find out that Americans now brew better beer than the Brits do, for shame!

Whilst at GW he found time to write the Warhammer English Civil War rules for Warhammer Historical, and has been an enthusiastic ECW player all his life and a keen ECW re-enactor, commanding the Marquis of Newcastle's tercio on the field for more years than he cares to remember in the Sealed Knot in the UK. He is a staunch Royalist and can be curt with Cropheads, rebels and traitors!

The last two and a half years has seen John set up Warlord Games in company with Paul Sawyer of White Dwarf magazine fame. Based in their secret underground command bunker in Nottingham England – the “silicon city” of the wargames world – in the shadow of Games Workshop's HQ, John and Paul brought out the world's first plastic 28mm Romans and have not looked back since. Warlord now have a splendid range of metal and plastic Ancients, a large and growing English Civil War collection, again with the main units in plastic and a huge metal and resin selection of WW2 troops and tanks branded as Boltaction Miniatures.

Please feel free to chat to John at HISTORICON about anything you like, he is a pretty cheery fellow and has a font of good wargames stories, some of them are even true!

Mr. Stallard will be presenting (with The Perry Twins) the following seminar twice during the convention: Black Powder, Not For Everyone! (Thurs. 10 AM and Fri. 9 AM), plus he will also be part of a theme panel – From Pike to Bayonet: Battlefield Evolution 1600-99 (Fri. 5 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be co-hosting a huge 25mm Napoleonic Peninsular War game (Sat. 1 PM; co-hosted with Ernie Baker of Architects of War). He will also be available for chat about the new rules and general ‘Meet & Greet’ at the Warlord Games booth at the convention (see Warlord Games booth at the convention for details).

Donald Stoker: Author or editor of six books, is Professor of Strategy and Policy for the US Naval War College’s Monterey program at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. His most recent work is The Grand Design: Strategy and the U.S. Civil War (Oxford University Press).

Mr. Stoker will be presenting a seminar on Strategy and the US Civil War (Thurs. 2:30 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Richard Sullivan: Marketing Director from Osprey Publishing will be hosting a seminar – Osprey Insights: The Latest News and How to Write For Us (Fri. 3 PM) – to talk about the company in more detail and to give you some sneak previews of new titles; see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details after May 14th. Topics will include how Osprey makes their publishing decisions, what is the best way to submit a synopsis if you are interested in becoming an author, what their bestsellers are, who to contact with about new title ideas, and news on the latest series and plans for the future.

Attendees should also plan to stop by the Osprey Publishing info booth located in the Vendor Hall to ‘Meet & Greet’ Osprey authors and artists, and to enter daily giveaway contests for HISTORICON – a great way to get free Osprey books!

Gerald D. Swick: Senior Web editor for Weider History Group sites www.ArmchairGeneral.com, www.GreatHistory.com and www.HistoryNet.com, and is an award-winning freelance writer. As ACG’s Web editor, he frequently edits game and book reviews. His own reviews have appeared in Fantasy Gamer, Fire & Movement, Game News and elsewhere. In a special presentation for HISTORICON, he shares insights into what makes an effective review – and authored Historic Photos of West Virginia (Turner Publishing, 2010)

Mr. Swick is being sponsored by the Weider History Group and will be presenting a hands-on seminar for aspiring history writers, Writing Book and Game Reviews: The Good, the Bad, and the Necessary (Fri. 6:30 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ at the Weider History Group booth (see the Weider History Group booth at the convention for details).

Orest Swystun: Currently serving on the HMGS Board of Directors as the VP for Convention Operations (ConOps), he is a Senior Information Engineer for Hewlett Packard with over 25 years experience in business and Information Technology. Studied Ukrainian History (in Ukrainian, German and English) for over 30 years. While having presented for Oracle Corporation at international events, this will be his first presentation for HMGS. Mr. Swystun will be presenting a theme seminar on The Cossack Rebellion: foundations of an independent Ukrainian State from the Ukrainian perspective (Fri. 10 AM), see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Dr. Ilkka Syvänne: Has a PhD in history from the University of Tampere, Finland, where he published his dissertation The Age of Hippotoxotai, Art of War in Roman Revival and Disaster 491-636 in 2004. Although Dr. Syvänne has a full-time job selling real estate, he is deeply connected to late Roman and Byzantine studies in Finland, assisting MA candidates at Tampere, lecturing on the “Roman Art of War” to Finland’s National Defence University, and serving as Vice Chairman for the Finnish Research Society of Byzantium. He has been selected to write six major articles for Blackwell’s Encyclopaedia of the Roman Army and was recipient of the Society of Ancients Ian Greenwood Price 2006 for his article “The Wars of Constantine the Great.” Dr. Syvänne will be presenting a seminar on the Battle of the Granicus River, 334 BC (Thurs. 6 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Dr. Phillip Tucker: H as authored or edited over 20 books on various aspects of the American experience, especially in the fields of Civil War, Irish, African-American, Revolutionary, and Southern history. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, he has earned three degrees in American history, including a Ph.D. from St. Louis University in 1990. In 1993, his biography of Father John B. Bannon won the Douglas Southall Freeman Award for the best book in Southern history. For over two decades, Dr. Tucker has been a military historian for the U.S. Air Force. He currently lives in the vicinity of Washington, DC. Dr. Tucker will be presenting a seminar from his new book about Exodus from The Alamo: Exploding the Last Stand Myth (Fri. 1 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Casemate Publishing booth (see booth at the convention for details).

Jay Wertz: Is the author of three books – The Native American Experience, The Civil War Experience 1861-1865, and co-author of Smithsonian’s Great Battles and Battlefields of the Civil War with prominent historian Edwin C. Bearss. He is currently working on a new World War II book series for the Weider History Group. He has also been a columnist for Civil War Times Illustrated, America’s Civil War, Historynet.com, GreatHistory.com and a feature writer for Aviation History. He is the producer-director-writer of the award-winning 13-part documentary series Smithsonian’s Great Battles of the Civil War for The Learning Channel and Time-Life Video. He started his 34-year film and TV career in Hollywood working for a USAF audio-visual contractor. He later directed a feature film, The Last Reunion, a thriller involving World War II veterans. He lives in Phillips Ranch, California.

Mr. Wertz is being sponsored by the Weider History Group and will be presenting the following three seminars: The Battle for Luzon, Dec. 1942 – May 1942 (Thurs. 2 PM); Stalingrad: The Daily Grind (Fri. 12 PM): Anecdotal Stories from D-Day to Berlin (Sat. 9 AM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details. He will also be available for ‘Meet & Greet’ and book signings at the Weider History Group booth (see the Weider History Group booth at the convention for details).

Paul Westermeyer: A historian for the History Division, Marine Corps University and holds a Masters in Military History from the Ohio State University. Mr. Westermeyer is the author of U.S. Marines in Battle: Al-Khafji and the forthcoming U.S. Marines in the Gulf War, as well as editor of the forthcoming Desert Voices: An Oral History Anthology of Marines in the Gulf War, 1990-1991.

Mr. Westermeyer will be presenting a seminar on The Battle of Burqan: An Iraqi Counter-attack in the Gulf War (Fri. 4 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Glenn Williams: Dr. Williams is currently employed with the U.S. Army Center for Military History. He is focused on the American Revolutionary War; his book, Year of the Hangman: George Washington’s Campaign against the Iroquois, came out in 2005. Dr. Williams will be presenting a seminar about Irregular Warfare on the Revolutionary Frontier (Thurs. 3 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Dr. Kyle Zelner: Graduate of William and Mary where he received his PhD in American History, and now an historian of early American warfare in the University of Southern Mississippi’s Department of History, where he is also a Senior Fellow of the Center for the Study of War & Society. His recent book, A Rabble in Arms: Massachusetts Towns and Militiamen during King Philip’s War. (New York University Press, 2009), provides the focus for his theme seminar on the history of the soldiers of King Philip’s War in colonial New England (1675-76) that he will be presenting: Myth and Reality – New England Militia during King Philip’s War (Fri. 2:30 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Dr. Alan Zimm: Currently a section leader of the Aerospace Performance Analysis Group at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, where he provides Operations Research analytic support to Department of Defense policy and decision-making processes, concentrating in the use of combat models and simulations. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of California Los Angeles, a Masters in Operations Research from Naval Postgraduate School, and a Doctorate from the University of Southern California’s School of Policy, Planning and Development at the University of Southern California. He previously served in the US Navy as a nuclear power qualified Surface Warfare Officer, including 14 years of sea duty on cruisers, carriers and hydrofoils.

Dr. Zimm is a long-time member of the wargaming community, and wrote and published the computer simulation Action Stations! Naval Surface Combat Tactical Simulation, 1922-1945, which was nominated for ‘Wargame of the Year’ by Computer Gaming World magazine. He is widely published in the areas of naval history, chaos theory, military strategy, weapons development analysis, and analytic techniques, with over 100 journal articles, and has received the Arleigh Burke Award from the US Naval Institute for writing excellence. His next book, The Attack on Pearl Harbor: Strategy, Planning, Combat, Myths, Deceptions, is expected in 2011.

Dr. Zimm will be presenting the following seminar: American Calculation of Battleline Strength, 1941-42 (Sat. 4 PM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.

Terrence Zuber: Terence Zuber is a retired U.S. Army officer whose active-duty responsibilities included troop leading, coordination with the German civil population, government, and army, as well as counter-intelligence operations. He received his MA and PhD in History from the University of Würzburg, Germany. He is the author of Inventing the Schlieffen Plan: German War Planning 1871-1914 (Oxford, 2002), German War Planning 1891-1914, Sources and Interpretations (Boydell and Brewer, 2004) The Moltke Myth: Prussian War Planning 1857-1871 (UPA, 2007), The Battle of the Frontiers. Ardennes 1914 (Tempus, 2008), and The Mons Myth: A Reappraisal of the Battle (The History Press, 2010). Mr. Zuber will be presenting the following two seminars: Inventing the Schlieffen Plan (Sat. 10 AM); The Mons Myth (Sat. 11 AM); see Events (PEL) link at left for complete details.