Tony Wood lives in New York and writes on Russia and Latin America.

A member of the editorial board of New Left Review, he is previously the author of Chechnya- The Case for Independence (2007), and his writing has appeared in the London Review of Books, the Guardian, n+1 and The Nation, among other places.

Michael W. Smith is a successful recording artist who has recorded more than 25 albums and had numerous hit radio songs in the Christian and General markets.

He's won numerous Grammy and Dove Awards and is the founder of Rocketown, an outreach to teenagers in a 38,000 square-foot facility in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.

He is involved in mission work around the world. He has also written several best-selling books, including Old Enough To Know and Friends Are Friends Forever.

He and his wife, Debbie, have five children and live in Nashville., As co-creator of VeggieTales and the voice of the beloved Larry The Cucumber