[2] During the 1950s, he worked for the state-run daily Al Gomhuria, first as military reporter during the Suez war and then, as head of the crime section.
[4] He fled the country and lived in Lebanon when he was forced to exile due to his Nasserist views in the 1970s.
[6][7] Salem started out translating English children's books like The Five Find-Outers before writing the 1968 book The Burning Shack Case under Dar El Maref's police stories line up, which ended up becoming a big seller and beginning The Five Adventurers series, that follows the adventures of a group of young children – Tewfik (Takhtakh), Nossa, Loza, Moheb, Atef and their dog Zinger as they solve different mysteries and crimes ranging from robberies to stopping criminal groups and terrorists.
[8] In a 2007 interview, Salem spoke about how the five adventurers were actually an attempt to restore his memories as a lonely introverted boy who moved with his family into Northern governorates due to his father's work as naval officer.
[4] It was series of mystery novels, in which 13 characters from different Arab countries deal with plots of foreign intelligence service.