James Shaffer has been a professional photographer for over 50 years and is a member of the National Press Photographers Association and the Iowa Press Photographers Association. John Tigges has published 38 novels and history books. Both native Dubuquers and local historians, together they authored Dubuque in the 19th Century, Dubuque in the 20th Century, Dubuque: Then & Now, and The Mississippi River: Father of Waters, also published by Arcadia.