Tiziano Terzani, born in Florence, Italy, was for 30 years Asia correspondent of the German magazine Der Spiegel. As such he was based in Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Thailand. From 1994 to 2004, the year he passed away, he was sharing his time between India and Italy. He has written several books, including The Forbidden Door; Good Night, Mister Lenin; Letters against the War, and A Fortune-Teller Told Me.