James A. Bill received his B.A. at Assumption College and his M.A. from Penn State University in 1965. He received his doctorate from Princeton University in 1968 and went on to teach at the University of Texas in 1968. He taught comparative politics and specialized in Middle Eastern Studies. He has also written a number of articles, journals and five books. He joined the Government Department at William & Mary in 1987. He also became the director of the Wendy and Emery Reves Center for International Studies. He retired from the Reves Center in 1998 and continued to teach until 2004. He has written a number of books, most notably The Eagle and the Lion (Yale) a study on Iran-U.S. relations. His book Behind the Scenes in U.S. Foreign Policy (Yale) is also noteworthy.