Louis Fischer was born in Philadelphia in 1896. After a period as a school teacher, he served as a volunteer in the British Army between 1918 and 1920. Fischer made a career as a journalist, and worked in Europe and Asia from 1921 onwards. He wrote for the New York Times, the Saturday Review and for European and Asian publications, reporting on events in Russia, Spain and India, among other countries. The author of numerous books, chiefly on political topics, he was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton and was a member of the faculty of Princeton University. Louis Fischer died in 1970.