Michael Pembroke grew up in England, Australia and Singapore and completed his education at the University of Cambridge. His books include Arthur Phillip: Sailor, Mercenary, Governor, Spy , short-listed for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards; Korea: Where the American Century Began , short-listed for the Queensland Literary Awards and the NSW Premier's History Awards; Play By the Rules , a polemic about American leadership that was published in the United States as America in Retreat and Trees of History and Romance , a paean to trees and poetry. His books have received praise from Simon Winchester, Noam Chomsky and A.C. Grayling among others. Pembroke studied French and Indian history at university intending to become a diplomat but afterwards succumbed to the law and rose to become a judge. He has written for Time Magazine , Al Jazeera , the South China Morning Post and Australian news publications.