Leslie A. Fiedler (1917-2003) was born in Newark, New Jersey, and educated at New York University and the University of Wisconsin. He served as a Japanese interpreter with the United States Navy during World War II and was, for many years, a professor of English at the University of Montana and the State University of New York at Buffalo. He published two novels and three collections of short stories but was best known as a versatile and incisive critic. Among his books are Freaks: Myths and Images of the Secret Self, The Stranger in Shakespeare, and Fiedler on the Roof: Essays on Literature and Jewish Identity.