Peter Lockhart (1954- ) was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to a Cornish mother. He circumnavigated the globe by ship by age 4, and spent some time in a Catholic Orphanage in Cornwall. He went to Australia in 1958. For twenty three years he had a career in the financial services industry. His first book, "The Naked Emperor: Why Religion is Bollocks," was first published in 2011. This book is his contribution to the discussion regarding the rise of atheism in the new millennium, and it was inspired by the books of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. The book has been well received and it discusses the personal real life experiences of the author and his reasons for rejecting religion.