Richard Jessup

Richard Jessup, born in 1925 in Savannah, was raised in orphanages until he joined the Merchant Marine at 16. He was a merchant seaman for 11 years and published his first book, The Cunning and the Haunted in 1954. He went on to write for science iction for TV, a series of Westerns and then spy novels. The Cincinnati Kid was by far his most successful novel, achieving enduring world wide fame aided by the film of the same name starring Steve McQueen. He died in 1984.