Norman Cousins (1912-1990) was editor-in-chief of the Saturday Review for over 35 years. He was a tireless advocate for world peace and in his later years devoted much writing and study to the issues of illness and healing.

Norman Cousins was born June 24, 1912 (although some sources give the date as 1915), in Union City, New Jersey. He was educated in New York City public schools and at Teachers' College, Columbia University. His journalistic career began in 1934, when he joined the staff of the New York Evening Post. The following year he moved to Current History, which first employed him as a book critic, subsequently as managing editor. Current History had its offices in the same building as the Saturday Review of Literature, and Cousins became friendly with members of its staff, notably Amy Loveman, Henry Seidel Canby, Christopher Morley, William Rose Benét, Harrison Smith, and editor George Stevens...