One of the most commercially successful authors of the twentieth century, Robert Ludlum is arguably the most widely read writer of the espionage thriller genre. He is the author of nineteen bestselling novels, and his books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide.

Born May 25, 1927 in New York City, Ludlum lost his father when he was only seven. By the time he was sixteen, he had decided that he wanted to be an actor. In 1943, he was cast in the Broadway show Junior Miss, but two years later he enlisted in the Marines. After his stint in the military, Ludlum went to Wesleyan University. By 1951, Ludlum had completed his bachelor's degree and married his girlfriend Mary. For much of the 1950s, Ludlum worked as an actor, moving between summer stock theaters and Broadway, and by the mid-1950s he began to get regular work...