Peter Wessel Zapffe was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1885. He studied in Oslo, Stockholm, Berlin and Copenhagen, before embarking on a career as a journalist in Argentina. He became interested in philosophy while writing for the newspaper Verdens Gang. In 1923 he moved to Mexico where he worked as a correspondent for Verdens Gang
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After falling out with the editor he returned to Norway, where he completed his first book, The Last Days of Mankind. It was published in 1925. Zapffe's interest in the work of Kierkegaard was an important influence on his thinking.
He published several more books on existentialism, including World's End (1928), The Existential Moment (1931), and Time Will Pass Away (1933). The latter book argued that traditional forms of political organization were doomed and that only "the powerless" could remain free. Zapffe returned to Mexico, where he remained until his death in 1957.