Barry John Crump was born on May 15, 1935 in Auckland. He was a New Zealand author of semi-autobiographical comic novels based on his image as a rugged outdoors man. Crump worked for many years as a government deer-culler in areas of New Zealand native forest. He wrote his first novel A Good Keen Man in 1960, based on his experiences as a government hunter. It was a fictional account of a young hunter who had to suffer through a series of hunting partners who are often unsuitable for the job. This novel became one of the most popular in New Zealand history.