Biography of Pat Frank

Pat Frank was the pen name of Harry Hart Frank, an American author, journalist, and government consultant who lived and worked throughout the first part of the 19th century. He is most famous for his apocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon. Some of his other works include Mr. Adam, about a nuclear mishap that causes worldwide male infertility and Hold Back the Night about the Korean War.

Frank was born in Chicago in 1908, and died in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964 of acute pancreatitis. Initially he began his career as a journalist and information handler for various newspapers, agencies, and government bureaus. In his early career he spent most of his time living in New York, Washington, and eventually overseas during World War II working in the Office of War Information and serving as a correspondent in Austria, Germany, and Turkey. Later, he turned his focus towards writing novels and other independent works.

Following the success of Alas, Babylon, Frank wrote for magazines and journals and tried to make his beliefs useful in the world of politics through advising various government bodies. In 1960 Frank served as a member of the Democratic National Committee, and the following year he received an American Heritage Foundation Award and was a consultant to the National Aeronautics and Space Council.

In the final year of his life, his expertise proved useful to the Department of Defense. To this day Frank is still remembered for the chilling stories he crafted based on years of experience observing the government, the military, and dealing with threats of nuclear attack.