Tom Berger

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American novelist who writes with humor, spontaneity and gusto, though sometimes rambling. First published in 1958, his works include "Crazy in Berlin," "Reinhart in Love," and "Vital Parts." His "Little Big Man" earned several awards for its author, and is considered by many critics to be the best novel ever about the American West. It was later made into a film. Berger was the son of the business manager of the town public school, and even though he didn’t actually produce writing for a long time, he always considered himself a writer. He served in World War II, and after completing his formal education, moved to New York, enrolled in a writers’ workshop at the New School for Social Research, and began to put out short stories. Married shortly thereafter in 1950 to Jeanne Redpath, a painter, he held nine-to-five jobs, as a librarian at the Rand School of Social Science (1948-1951), as a staff member of the New York Times Index (1951-1952) and as an editor of "Popular Science Monthly," (1952-1953). He was encouraged by his wife to leave full time employment and begin working on a novel. His first book took four years and it was not until his third novel that his work brought in income that enabled him to give up the additional freelance work he was doing to support himself. His "Little Big Man" earned the Rosenthal Award for Fiction and the Western Heritage Award in 1965, and was later made into a film. He also wrote "Killing Time," and a play, "Other People." Link to Wikipedia biography