Archibald John Levin was born in Cradock, Eastern Cape, South Africa, on 10 October 1911. He trained as a journalist on the Cape Times and then ran a record company before going briefly to Halifax, Nova Scotia. During World War II he served in the South African army, working in Intelligence.

After the war Levin and his wife published several editions of Guide to the Federation of Rhodesia & Nyasaland and Guide to East Africa and various other practical publications on farming and fishing. After moving to Rhodesia in 1960 he began his Confidential News Reports which were distributed to subscribers. He also published the Sunday Mirror, a newspaper aimed at the African public. The publications brought him into conflict with the Rhodesian government and he left Southern Rhodesia shortly before the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in November 1965. He subsequently served as personal advisor to President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia from 1965 to 1974 and as a consultant on investment in Africa for international companies. He died in London on 3 January 1977.