MAREK HALTER was born in Warsaw in 1936. When he was five, he and his family escaped from the Nazis by crawling through the sewers under the Warsaw Ghetto. He has lived in France since 1950. In addition to being a writer, Marek Halter is also an artist and a human rights activist and has served as president of the European Foundation for Science, Art and Culture. His book Le Fou et Les Rois, which recounts his experiences working for Middle East peace, won the Prix Aujourd'hui.