Douglas Porch earned a Ph.D. from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University. After studying at the Ecole normale supérieure Paris, he joined the faculty of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, before being named to the Mark Clark Chair of History at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He is now Professor and former Chair of the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Professor Porch has served as Professor of Strategy at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and has also lectured at the United States Marine Corps University at Quantico, Virginia, the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy. A specialist in military history, Douglas Porch’s books include The French Secret Services. From the Dreyfus Affair to Desert Storm (1995), The French Foreign Legion. A Complete History of the Legendary Fighting Force (1991) which won prizes both in the United States and in France, The Conquest of the Sahara, The Conquest of Morocco, The March to the Marne. The French Army 1871-1914, The Portuguese Armed Forces and the Revolution, and Army and Revolution. France 1815-1844. Wars of Empire, part of the Cassell History of Warfare series, appeared in October 2000 and in paperback in 2001. His latest book, The Path to Victory. The Mediterranean Theater in World War II, a selection of the Military History Book Club, the History Book Club, and the Book of the Month Club, was published by Farrar, Straus, Giroux, New York and McMillan London in May 2004. It received the Award for Excellence in U.S. Army Historical Writing from The Army Historical Foundation. At present, he is working on a book on the Colombian insurgency. He advises on security issues all over the world, and has also conducted specialized seminars in Monterey, Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg for security and intelligence personnel, both American and international. In 2008 he was presented the Navy Superior Civilian Services Award.