Born in Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Martin worked for the German weekly news magazine "Der Spiegel". As a freelance writer, he has written and co-authored several popular books, among them the best-selling "The Global Trap: Globalization and the Assault on Prosperity and Democracy" ("Die Globalisierungsfalle", 1996), "Bitter Pills" ("Bittere Pillen") about the pros and cons of pharmaceuticals and "The European Trap" ("Die Europafalle", only available in German but a partial translation is available on Martin's website), an inside analysis of European integration, faults of the European bureaucracy and lobbyism in the EU.