Hungarian-born Stefan Lorant's work as a visual and literary editor allowed him to pioneer and develop the genré of picture-based journalism at a period that saw the emergence of modern mass communications. Lorant became a guiding force on an international scale, disseminating his ideas and political knowledge throughout Europe in the late-twenties and thirties by working in Hungary, Germany, and England. His innovative layouts, his "exclusive" interviews and his thirst for knowledge became a familiar part of millions of everyday lives, largely through the pages of his own creations and in particular the legendary Picture Post. Eventually his sphere of influence spread to America where he introduced the concept of the pictorial biography. His vision of photography as a documentary medium inspired Life and Look magazines and paved the way for the eventual emergence of the television documentary. For this he has become recognized as "the godfather" of photojournalism.

Lorant's work enlightened the world - yet his own world was shrouded with darkness. His secret past, hidden throughout his lifetime, reveals the changing attitude of sexual politics as it evolved throughout the century. His serial womanizing and scandalous love affairs provide insight into the unhappy alliance between his sexual fulfillment and intellectual frustration, his searching in others for what he could not find within himself.

Michael Hallett first interviewed Stefan Lorant in late 1990 and spent the following years researching and interviewing his subject. Hallett examines Lorant's public image, his huge ego, his manipulative nature, and his devious love of subterfuge and confusion. Hallett also reveals Lorant's warmth, his generosity, his callousness, his passions and his extraordinary humanity. This biography encompasses the 20th century, while focusing on the emergence of modern mass communications throughout Europe and the United States. Additionally there is a small but key section that highlights Lorant's pl