David Pryce-Jones was born in Vienna in 1936. He studied modern history at Magdalen College, Oxford. His career has included spells teaching creative writing in Iowa and in California, as well as being a special correspondent for the Daily Telegraph covering international assignments, including the Middle East wars of 1967 and 1973.

He has published numerous novels and works of nonfiction. Among the latter are The Closed Circle, The Strange Death of the Soviet Empire, and Betrayal: France, the Jews, and the Arabs.

Since 1999, Pryce-Jones has been a senior editor of National Review. His daily web log, David Calling, debuted on National Review Online in June 2006.