By LJ Staff

Howard Fast, who was known for historical novels that often incorporated themes of slavery and bigotry, died March 12 at the age of 88. Fast was raised by his father after his mother's passing when he was eight. Fast once noted that. although his family was poor, books were always present in his home. His love of literature was deepened when he took a job in his teens as a janitor at the New York Public Library. A born writer, Fast sold his first short story at 17 and his first novel at 19, to Dial Press. He also wrote screenplays, poetry, and was a correspondent for Esquire and other magazines during World War II. Fast joined the Communist Party in the early 1940s, which led to his blacklisting during the McCarthy era. In addition to his bestsellers such as Spartacus, Citizen Tom Paine, and Freedom Road, Fast also penned a series of detective mysteries under the name E.V. Cunningham.