Brian A. Libby was born in Maine in 1949. He was educated at Cheverus High School in Portland (a Jesuit day school), Johns Hopkins University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Purdue University. He received his doctorate in History in 1977, his main fields being European military and diplomatic history. After a year of complete unemployment he began teaching European history at Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, Minnesota. He arrived just in time to take a minor part in the revolution which overthrew the Headmaster. In subsequent years he was named department chair, was twice nominated by his colleagues for the ISACS distinguished teacher award, received the Board of Trustees Meritorious Service Award, and was named the first holder of the newly-endowed Cochran-Lang Chair in History.

His proudest moment, however, came in 1984, when his students secretly collected contributions and presented him with a Franklin Mint replica of the sword which Napoleon had with him at Waterloo (in his carriage, intending to wear it upon his triumphal entry into Brussels, but something went wrong.) By 1998 Dr. Libby's career has reached such a height of success and accomplishment that he suspected he was approaching a nervous breakdown, so he went part-time and began to write. If enough people buy his books (or should he win the state lottery), he will be able to realize his current dream of leaving the educational profession completely. Brian Libby's avocations include computer gaming and classical music. His favorite composer is Handel. Both he and Handel are unmarried.