小沃爾特﹒M﹒米勒於1923年生於美國南方。珍珠港事變後，他加入美國空軍，成為無綫電通訊員和機炮手，在意大利和巴爾乾上空參加五十五次空戰，其中包括引起很大爭議的對卡西諾山本篤會修道院的空襲。正是這次空襲，使米勒在十五年後創作瞭《萊博維茨的贊歌》：一部發生在陰暗的修道院中的科幻小說。

米勒創作瞭不少優秀的短篇小說，但與其他幾乎所有一流科幻小說傢不同的是，米勒僅創作瞭一部長篇小說，這就是《萊博維茨的贊歌》。許多年來，一直有謠傳它會有續集，但是續集至今仍未齣現。事實上，這樣一部傑作已經注定瞭它不需要有續集。

Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel and widely considered one of the most accomplished, powerful, and enduring classics of modern speculative fiction, Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s "A Canticle for Leibowitz" is a true landmark of twentieth-century literature -- a chilling and still-provocative look at a post-apocalyptic future. In a nightmarish ruined world slowly awakening to the light after sleeping in darkness, the infant rediscoveries of science are secretly nourished by cloistered monks dedicated to the study and preservation of the relics and writings of the blessed Saint Isaac Leibowitz. From here the story spans centuries of ignorance, violence, and barbarism, viewing through a sharp, satirical eye the relentless progression of a human race damned by its inherent humanness to recelebrate its grand foibles and repeat its grievous mistakes. Seriously funny, stunning, and tragic, eternally fresh, imaginative, and altogether remarkable, "A Canticle for Leibowitz" retains its ability to enthrall and amaze. It is now, as it always has been, a masterpiece.