		The Authors

		Gordon T. Allred is a professor of English at Weber State University where he has taught for over four decades. He holds a doctorate in creative writing and modern literature and has published 18 books, both fiction and nonfiction, along with numerous articles and stories. He has received several awards for his writing and teaching, including the Utah Fine Arts Creative Writing Award and Utah Author of the Year. At Weber State University he has been honored with the Presidential Distinguished Professor Award, Master Teacher Award, and Creative Achievement Award. He recently served on the Hemingway Foundation Board of Directors, and is a fifth-degree black belt in the Kenpo karate system. After writing Kamikaze, Allred wrote about the process of writing the book for his Master's thesis. See how Kamikaze came to be. More ...

		Yasuo Kuwahara was only 15 in 1944 when he won first place at the Japanese National High School Glider contest. As Japan’s war outlook grew dimmer, Kuwahara’s flying prowess resulted in his being pressed into training as a fighter pilot for a Kamikaze squadron. He was spared from completing his suicidal mission in a fantastic twist of ironic fate that remains one of the most amazing stories of World War II. After the war he worked for the Japanese government, and later owned a successful photography business. He died suddenly in 1980.