Lt. Col. (Ret.) Michael Lee Lanning is the author of 26 nonfiction books on military history, sports, and health. More than 1.1million copies of his books are in print in fifteen countries, and editions have been translated into twelve languages. He has appeared on major television networks and the History Channel as an expert on the individual soldier on both sides of the Vietnam War. The New York Times Book Review declared Lanning's Vietnam 1969-1970: A Company Commander's Journal to be "...one of the most honest and horrifying accounts of a combat soldier's life to come out of the Vietnam War." The London Sunday Times devoted an entire page to review his The Military 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Military Leaders of All Time. According to the San Francisco Journal, Lanning's Inside the VC and NVA is, "A well-researched, groundbreaking work that fills a huge gap in the historiography of the Vietnam War."

Lanning is a highly decorated veteran whose decorations and badges include The Defense Meritorious Service Badge and The Bronze Star for Valor. He resides in Lampasas, Texas.