Born in Portland, Oregon on October 22, 1887, John Reed was among the most highly acclaimed journalists of his day, famous for his first-hand accounts of the Mexican Revolution, where he rode alongside Pancho Villa, in addition to his famous book on the Russian Revolution. Reed was also a political activist and a founding member of the Communist Labor Party of America. He died in Russia on October 17, 1920, and is one of only three Americans buried in the Kremlin Wall.
A.K. Brackob has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a specialist on the history of southeastern Europe during the Middle Ages and author of Mircea the Old: Father of Wallachia, Grandfather of Dracula.