Adele Westbrook studied philosophy at Columbia University at the same time co-author Oscar Ratti was doing graduate work in the classical languages. They began to practice aikido together, and studied under a variety of instructors in the United States and Europe. They shared a longtime interest in the thought and rituals of ancient civilizations and were experts on Japanese warrior arts and ethos. They are the authors of the best-selling Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere, as well as three illustrated fiction books of their graphic novel series Tales of Hermit.
