Julius Fast (April 17, 1919 – December 16, 2008) was an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

of both fiction and non-fiction. In 1946 he was the first recipient of the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

given by the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

for the best first novel of 1945.Grimes, William (December 19, 2008)
"Julius Fast, 89, Writer of Both Fact and Fiction, Is Dead"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Accessed December 21, 2008. Fast was born in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, the younger brother of novelist

Howard Fast Howard Melvin Fast (November 11, 1914 – March 12, 2003) was an American novelist and television writer. Fast also wrote under the pen names E.V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson. Biography Early life Fast was born in New York City. His mother, ...

. Majoring in

pre-med Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...

, he earned a bachelor's degree at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. He was in the

United States Army Medical Corps The Medical Corps (MC) of the U.S. Army is a staff corps (non-combat specialty branch) of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an M.D. or a D.O. degree, at least one ye ...

for three years, serving in a blood lab in Boston and became a sergeant. He edited ''Out of This World'', a 1944 collection of science fiction stories while he was still in the Army. He married author Barbara Sher in 1946. They co-wrote the 1979 book ''Talking Between the Lines: How We Mean More Than We Say''. Their three children are: Jennie Gelfand, Dr. Melissa Morgan and Timothy Fast. In 1997, Fast and his son co-authored ''The Legal Atlas of the United States''. His first novel, ''Watchful at Night'', written in 1945 while he was still serving in the Army, was given the first award presented at the inaugural

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

in 1946 for Best First Novel by an American Author in 1945. Reviewer Isaac Anderson of ''

'' described his 1947 novel ''Walk in Shadow'' as a "profoundly moving novel of crime and punishment'', telling the story of a once-honest man who becomes a murderer.Anderson, Isaac
"WALK IN SHADOW. By Julius Fast. 244 pp. New York: Rinehart & Co. $2.50."
''

'', October 5, 1947. Accessed December 21, 2008. Fast wrote and edited for a number of medical magazines, where his time employed at a

podiatry Podiatry () or podiatric medicine () is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and leg. A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), or a podiatrist, is a healthcare p ...

journal provided the background he needed to write the 1970 book ''You and Your Feet''. Other non-fiction works reflected a broad range of subjects, including the 1968 book ''The Beatles: The Real Story'', ''The New Sexual Fulfillment'' published in 1972 and his 1979 book ''Weather Language''. His 1988 semiautobiographical novel ''What Should We Do About Davey?'' described a gawky teen at a

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

summer camp for boys. He wrote a number of books on request for publishers on subjects of current interest, including writing ''What You Should Know About Human Sexual Response'' in months after the 1966 publication of ''Human Sexual Response'' by

Masters and Johnson The Masters and Johnson research team, composed of William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson, pioneered research into the nature of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders and dysfunctions from 1957 until the 1 ...

. He died at age 89 in

Kingston, New York Kingston is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with t ...

on December 16, 2008, after suffering a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 2007.

Works

*''Out of This World''. an anthology edited by Julius Fast, Penguin Books, 1944. *''Watchful at Night''.

Farrar & Rinehart Farrar & Rinehart (1929–1946) was a United States book publishing company founded in New York. Farrar & Rinehart enjoyed success with both nonfiction and novels, notably, the landmark Rivers of America Series and the first ten books in the Nero ...

, Inc., 1945. *''The Bright Face of Danger''.

Rinehart & Company Rinehart & Company was an American publishing company founded in 1946. Renamed Rinehart & Company in 1946, the publishing company merged with Henry Holt and Company and the John C. Winston Company in 1960, to form Holt, Rinehart and Winston (HRW). ...

, 1946. *''Walk in Shadow''.

, 1947. *''The Iron Cradle'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1954. *''A Model for Murder''.

, 1956. *''Street of Fear''.

, 1958. *''Doctor Harry''. (under the pseudonym Adam Barnett), Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1958. *''Blueprint for Life''. St. Martin’s Press, 1964. *''What You Should Know About Human Sexual Response''., G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1966. *''

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

: The Real Story''. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1968. *''Body Language''. Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, 1970. () *''The League of the Grey Eyed Women''. J.B. Lippencott Co., 1970. *''The Incompatibility of Men and Women and how to Overcome it''. M. Evans & Company, 1971. *''You and Your Feet''. Pelham Books, 1971. *''The New Sexual Fulfillment''. Berkley Press, 1972. *''Bisexual Living''. M. Evans & Company, 1975. () *''The Pleasure Book''.

Stein & Day Stein and Day, Inc. was an American publishing company founded by Sol Stein and his wife Patricia Day in 1962. Stein was both the publisher and the editor-in-chief. The firm was based in New York City, and was in business for 27 years, until clos ...

Publishing, 1975. () *''The Body Language of Sex Power and Aggression''. M. Evans and Co., 1977. *''Creative Coping : A Guide to Positive Living''. (with Barbara Fast), Morrow, 1976. () *''Psyching Up: Over 50 Good Ideas for a Slimmer, Sexier, Healthier You''.

, 1978. () *''Weather Language''. Wyden Books, 1979. () *''Talking Between the Lines: How We Mean More Than We Say''. (with Barbara Fast) Viking Press, 1979. () *''Body Politics Tower Books''. 1980,. () *''The Omega-3 breakthrough''. Body Press, c1987. () *''Sexual Chemistry: What it Is, how to Use it''. M. Evans & Company, 1983. () *''Ladies man: an autobiography''. by

Paul Henreid Paul Henreid (November 10, 1908 – March 29, 1992) was an Austrian-British-American actor, director, producer, and writer. He is best remembered for two film roles; Victor Laszlo in ''Casablanca'' and Jerry Durrance in ''Now, Voyager'', bo ...

with Julius Fast, St. Martin’s Press, c1984, () *''What Should we do about Davey?''. St. Martin’s Press, 1988. *''Subtext: Making Body Language Work in the Workplace''.

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

, 1991. () *''The Legal Atlas of the United States''.

Facts on File Infobase Publishing is an American publisher of reference book titles and textbooks geared towards the North American library, secondary school, and university-level curriculum markets. Infobase operates a number of prominent imprints, includin ...

, 1997. () *''A Trunkful of Trouble''. Gryphon Books, 2003. ()

Sources

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fast, Julius 1919 births 2008 deaths Jewish American writers Edgar Award winners New York University alumni People from Manhattan United States Army non-commissioned officers 20th-century American male writers United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews