Edward Sidney Aarons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1916. He attended Columbia University, working as a reporter, a salesman and a fisherman, and in 1933 winning a collegiate short story contest. He continued writing stories for such publications as Detective Story Magazine before publishing his first novel, Death in a Lighthouse, under the pseudonym "Edward Ronns," which he would use for most of his career. Aarons is best known for writing the "Assignment" series featuring CIA agent Sam Durell beginning in 1955. He wrote 42 "Assignment" books in all, selling more than 23 million copies in 17 different languages. He also sketched, sailed, did cabinet-making, was a camera enthusiast and a deep-sea fisherman. Aarons died of heart ailment in New Milford, Connecticut on June 16, 1975.