Paul Zindel was born on May 15, 1936, in Staten Island, New York.

When Zindel was very young, his father abandoned the family, reducing Paul, his mother, and his sister to poverty.

The Zindels moved frequently, thus remaining perpetual outsiders in the ethnic neighborhoods of Staten Island.

Diagnosed with tuberculosis at age fifteen, Zindel was sent to a sanatorium called Stony Wold for a year and a half.

Despite these setbacks, Zindel managed to graduate from Port Richmond High School only a year late and went on to Wagner College in Staten Island, New York, where he graduated with a bachelor of science degree in 1958.

Zindel served briefly as a technical writer for a chemical company, but had little interest in the job. He returned to Wagner College, received a master of science degree, and taught chemistry at Totenville High School in Staten Island from 1959 to...