Laurence Lafore

Laurence Davis Lafore (September 15, 1917 – November 24, 1985) was an American historian and novelist. He was a professor of history at Swarthmore College from 1946 to 1969 and at the University of Iowa from 1969 to 1985. He specialized in European history and foreign policy and published several spy fiction novels.

Early life and education Lafore was born September 15, 1917, as an assistant information officer in London and Paris. He earned a PhD degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1950.

His books included Learner's Permit (1962), a satirical comedy about English scholars and their pretensions; The Long Fuse (1965), about the origins of World War I; and The End Of Glory (1970), about the origins of World War II. He published The Days of Emperor and Clown in 1973 about the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. He published several spy fiction novels and nonfiction articles for magazines including Harper's and The Atlantic.

He died November 24, 1985,

Publications Learner's Permit: A Novel, Doubleday, 1962 Nine Seven Juliet: A Mystery Novel, Doubleday, 1969 The End of Glory - An Interpretation of the Origins of World War II, Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc., 1970, ISBN 978-1-57766-234-1 The Long Fuse - An Interpretation of the Origins of World War I, Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc., 1971, ISBN 978-0-88133-954-3