Henry Sakaida was born in Santa Monica, California in 1951. After a Russian language course, he developed an interest in the culture and war history, later leading to his research in the Ukraine and Russia. Eilte 90: ‘Heroines of the Soviet Union 1941–45’ is based on this research, as is this companion volume. His other area of interest is Japanese combat aviation history on which he has written several books. Henry lives with his wife and two children in Temple City, near Los Angeles.