Anderson is best known for his series of books based on his experiences as a Viet Nam era Green Beret and a police officer in two major American cities.

He is a former merchant seaman, decorated Vietnam War veteran, former police officer, former university English professor and current writer and essayist.

[1] He then attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for two years before he received his draft notice and enlisted in the US Army the next day.

He moved to Los Angeles and began teaching creative writing at UCLA and then became a protégé of John Milius, a screenwriter, producer and director involved with such films as Jeremiah Johnson, Apocalypse Now, Conan The Barbarian, and Red Dawn.

[5] and the French edition, Chiens de la Nuit, won the “Prix Calibre 38.” prize for best novel that same year.

Kent Anderson was the Guest of Honor in 2019 at the Festival International du Roman Noir de Frontignan, France.