Chris Rainier is a documentary photographer and National Geographic Explorer who is highly respected for his documentation of endangered cultures and traditional languages around the globe. He is a fellow at the Royal Geographical Society in London. He has published books documenting traditional cultures around the globe, from the Stone Age tribes of New Guinea to the ancient tradition of tattoo body marking. Rainier is the director of the Cultural Sanctuaries Foundation, a global program focused on legally preserving biodiversity and cultural heritage. Rainier has photographed on all seven continents, focusing on the preservation of the planet's last wildernesses and traditional cultures.

Pico Iyer is the author of more than a dozen books, including Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk, The Open Road and The Art of Stillness. His travels have taken him from Easter Island to North Korea, from Yemen and Ethiopia to Tierra del Fuego.