Adele Westbrook studied philosophy at Columbia University at the same time as future husband Oscar Ratti was doing graduate work in the classical languages. They began to practice Aikido together, and studied under a variety of instructors in the United States and Europe. They shared a longtime interest in the thought and rituals of ancient civilizations and were experts on Japanese warrior arts and ethos.
They are the authors of the best-selling Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere, as well as three illustrated fiction books of their graphic novel series Tales of Hermit.
Adele Westbrook