Howard Nemerov was born in March 1920 in New York City. His parents were wealthy and influential in the city. His father served as president and chair of a prestigious retail store, and both parents were interested in art, theatre, philanthropy, and the social scenes of New York's finest. Nemerov was educated at the Society for Ethical Culture's Fieldstone School, where he excelled in academics and played on the football team's second string. Graduating from Fieldstone in 1937, Nemerov was accepted into Harvard University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English four years later. Also in 1941, the United States entered World War II, and Nemerov joined a Royal Canadian unit of the American Army Air Force and then moved to the Eighth U. S. Army Air Force, based in Lincolnshire, England. He flew missions over the North Sea throughout the war and was discharged in 1945 as...