Hugo Ball's fascinating biography was published in 1927 for Hermann Hesse's 50th birthday and remains unmatched to this day. This is because Hugo Ball was too much of an artist himself for the issues Hesse faced in his own life to be unfamiliar to him. Since 1920, he had been acquainted with Hesse and lived for several years initially as a critical eyewitness, and later as a friend and closest confidant in Hesse's immediate neighborhood.