Spoiler : Born in New York City 11/11/1914; died 3/12/2003 of natural causes at his home in Old Greenwich, Connecticutt. Married to Bette Cohen (1937-1994 her death). Fast wrote his first novel, "Two Valleys" at age 18. During WWII, Fast was a writer for the U.S. Office of War Information, writing for Voice of America broadcasts to occupied Europe, and served as a war correspondent in the China- Burma-India theater of the war. Blacklisted, spent three months in prison in 1950 for not cooperating with the House of Un-American Activities Committee. The 1948 movie, Rachel and the Stranger was based on Fast's novel, Rachel. Writer for television including episodes of The Defenders on CBS (1961-1965). Writer for the sixth and seventh episodes of the mini-series, How the West Was Won that was telecast on ABC (1978-1979).