Ian Slater was born in Australia in 1941 and worked in Canberra for the Navy, External Affairs, and the Joint Intelligence Bureau. He was a marine geology technician with the New Zealand and University of British Columbia Institutes of Oceanography. He earned a Ph.D. in political science in 1977 from UBC. As author and teacher, he has taught a wide variety of courses in the humanities and is currently managing editor of Pacific Affairs. He is married with two children. Presently, he is writing a World War II series of books.