Novelist and left political commentator, Howard Fast, died:
Perhaps not as famous as Fred Rogers, he was nonetheless significant for me because his historical novel, “Citizen Tom Paine” was the first non children’s book I read. A somewhat late bloomer to reading, this book was recommended to me by my exceptional 7th grade social studies teacher; after reading it I was rarely without a book (until college, of course).
Many years later I went to a book signing in Westchester county that Fast was doing for his collection of essays called, “War and Peace: Observations on Our Times”. I had him sign the new book and then showed him my ancient beat up copy of “Citizen Tom Paine”. He signed it and while I was trying to explain its importance in my life, he drifted off into a reverie and didn’t come out for quite a while; he never did get to hear the impact he had on me. Oh well.
Cheers,
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ