Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was the author of 29 spy fiction novels.  There are more than 210 million of his books in print, and they have been translated into 32 languages.  Ludlum was once a theatrical actor and producer, and in an interview, he spoke of knowing what the public wanted from his theatre experience, so he wrote that into his novels.  His books mainly feature the hero up against tremendous odds, and have a lot of violence and action.  Most of his books are set in the time of the Cold War, and feature real characters with fiction built around them, eg. Rene Bergeron and Carlos (the Jackal) in The Bourne Identity.

With the exception of occasional gaps in his knowledge of firearms, all of his novels are meticulously researched, replete with technical details, physical and biological details, including research on amnesia for The Bourne Identity.  Some of his novels have been made into films, including The Osterman Weekend, The Holcroft Covenant, Apocalypse Watch, The Bourne Identity, and The Bourne Supremacy.