Herbert Feis

Born in New York City in 1893, Herbert Feis became known both as a scholar and as a public servant. He worked on international economic affairs for the U.S. government during the Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt years, giving him direct experience with the policies and crises he would later write about.

Feis went on to build a strong reputation as an author of diplomatic and political history, especially on World War II and American foreign relations. His books include Between War and Peace, Road to Pearl Harbor, China Tangle, and The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II. He received the Pulitzer Prize for History for Between War and Peace.

What makes his work stand out is the mix of insider knowledge and careful historical storytelling. He wrote about major international decisions with the perspective of someone who had watched policy being shaped from close range, yet his books were meant for general readers as well as specialists.