Eric Linklater was a Scottish writer born in Penarth, Wales in 1899 to a master mariner and the daughter of a sea-captain. Although Linklater initially studied medicine, he later became interested in journalism. Much of his writing is based on his experience in the military and his extensive travels of the world. During World War I, he served as a sniper with a Scottish infantry regiment and, after suffering a severe head injury, was hospitalized for several months. In the 1930s he became a full time writer of novels as well as poetry, short fiction, satires, travel pieces, children's books, war histories, and two volumes of autobiography. Juan in America examines the catastrophe during the prohibition era, while Private Angelo recounts the post-war organization in Italy. The Wind on the Moon was awarded the Carnegie Medal and nominated for best book of 1944. Poet's Pub was adapted into a British comedy film in 1949. Eric Linklater died in 1974.
Nancy Pearl is a literary critic, librarian and the author of Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason. She was the 2004 winner of the Women's National Book Association Award.