Harry Harrison

Born in Stamford, Connecticut, on March 12, 1925, Harry Harrison was an American science fiction writer whose real name was Henry Maxwell Dempsey. He became widely known for fast-moving, humorous adventures, especially the Stainless Steel Rat series, and for Make Room! Make Room!, the novel that later inspired the film Soylent Green.

Before becoming a full-time novelist, he worked as an illustrator and editor in comics and science fiction publishing. That visual, energetic background helped shape a style that was clear, lively, and easy to race through, even when he was tackling serious ideas about war, overpopulation, or the future of society.

Harrison spent much of his life outside the United States and died in Crowborough, East Sussex, England, on August 15, 2012. Readers still return to him for a rare mix of satire, big ideas, and pure storytelling fun.