John Reed

Born in Portland, Oregon, in 1887, John Reed became one of the most vivid American reporters of the early 20th century. After graduating from Harvard, he wrote for major magazines and became closely associated with the radical publication The Masses.

Reed reported from labor struggles, Mexico, and Europe, but he is most famous for his firsthand account of the Russian Revolution, Ten Days That Shook the World (1919). The book made him an enduring figure in political journalism because it combines on-the-ground observation with a strong sense of drama and conviction.

His life was short and intense. Reed died in Moscow in 1920, at just 32, but his work still stands out for its energy, immediacy, and willingness to place the writer inside the story rather than safely at a distance.