Nelson Peery (1923–2015) grew up in rural Minnesota, the son of a postal worker in the only African American family in town. After fighting in World War II, he joined the Communist Party and worked for many years as a bricklayer and as a political revolutionary. He was the author of many books, including his award-winning memoir, Black Fire: The Making of an American Revolutionary, and its sequel, Black Radical: The Education of an American Revolutionary, both published by The New Press.