Born in Naples in 1913 by Swiss parents, Hans Ruesch lived in Naples until the age of twelve years, then he was sent across the Alps to finish his studies.
From 1932 to ' 37 he raced , arriving to play the most famous Races of the time and to win some, like that of 1936 in Donington.
And it is starting from his experience as a pilot that he writes the following year” Number One”.
In 1950 he published the best seller” Paese dale ombre lunghe”, which reached two million and a half copies.
In 1955 Hollywood produces some movies based on his books. In the early 1970s, Ruesch abandoned novel writing and in 1976 he published “L’imperatrice Nuda”, a fierce indictment against vivisection.
A text that will cost him dozens of prosecutions and the systematic boycott of his books, but that will make him a banner for all those who fight for animal rights.
He died, after a long illness he faced with courage, at the end of August, 2007, in his house in Lugano.
Italian text