Ronald Kessler was born in New York City in 1943. He grew up in Belmont, Massachusetts and attended Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is an American journalist and author of 18 nonfiction books. Kessler worked at the Washington Post for many years. After this he began to write books about current affairs and national intelligence topics. Four of his books were listed on the hardcover nonfiction New York Times Best Seller list. In 2009 he published In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect.