Described by theatre critics as one of the twentieth century's greatest talents, Benjamin Zuskin (1899-1952) was a star of the Moscow State Jewish Theater. In writing The Travels of Benjamin Zuskin, his daughter, Ala Zuskin Perelman, has rescued from oblivion his story and that of the theatre in which he served as performer and, for a period, artistic director.

Ala Zuskin Perelman was born in Moscow to Benjamin Zuskin and Eda Berkovsky, both actors in the Moscow State Jewish Theater. She was trained as an engineer, translator, and expert in scientific and technological information. In 1975, with her husband, Yuri Perelman, and their two sons, she immigrated to Israel, where she directed the Information Center at the Standards Institution and at the same time initiated or took part in projects commemorating Benjamin Zuskin and his milieu.