"It was while in India that Fuller first contacted Aleister Crowley, writer, magician and notorious self-publicist. He saw an advertisement offering £100 for the best essay on Crowley's works published in the "Traveller's Edition", and "on its arrival, I decided to try my luck". Such were the origins of Fuller's first book, The Star in the West. Fuller won Crowley's prize and the two men became fast friends. J. F. C. Fuller was a follower of Aleister Crowley as well as an innovator of military maneuvers and tank warfare in World War II. Major General Fuller was one of the foremost military historians of the 20th century, and the author of many books, including A Military History of the Western World.