As a boy, he and his family fled Russia to avoid the state-sponsored pogroms, emigrating to the United States, where he changed his name to Edward.

After his discharge from the Jewish Legion, he settled in Palestine, where he married a fellow Russian émigré named Sara Fixman, with whom he had 4 children.

At the request of the Jewish Agency, Edward began working for the British Mandate, rising to the post of director-general of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

While working for the British Mandate, Edward wrote for many newspapers, including the London Jewish Chronicle and the Palestine Illustrated News, often under pseudonyms (most notably "Caisson").

Sperling also wrote art criticisms for the Jewish Chronicle and the Palestine Post (the latter which published his last review on the day of his death), using the initials "Th.

As he left his government office at the King David Hotel, he was shot at by Irgun men (not knowing he himself was a Zionist).