Joseph Miller grew up in northeastern Illinois. He got his Bachelor's degree from Illinois State University in 1974, majoring in political science and obtaining minors in history, sociology, and education. He received a Master's in History from ISU in 1982, a degree which focused on the history of modern Russia. He did extensive postgraduate work at Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois at Chicago, concentrating on the histories of modern Russia and modern Germany. He taught at the secondary level from 1974 to 2007, teaching and designing courses in European history, American government, military history, the history of science, sociology, anthropology, the history of ideas, and others. His travels include the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Russia, Spain, Japan, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and virtually the entire United States. He has studied Russian, German, and Japanese as well. He now lives with his wife on the island of Kauai, in Hawaii.
