Leonard Levitt
Leonard Hugh Levitt (April 27, 1941May 18, 2020) was an American author known for his books about crime and the New York City Police Department. He was an Edgar Award winner and worked as a Peace Corps teacher in Tanzania in the early and mid-1960s. He was also the author of An African Season about his experiences in Tanzania and as a teacher. It was the first book ever written by a Peace Corps volunteer. Early life Levitt was born in The Bronx, New York City, on April 27, 1941. His father, Boris, operated a business dealing with import/export; his mother, Celia (Kossovsky), was an English teacher at Hunter College. He grew up in the Five Towns area on Long Island. He graduated from Lawrence Woodmere Academy and went on to study at Dartmouth College, obtaining a bachelor's degree from that institution in 1963. Levitt subsequently joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Tanzania teaching English. One of his students at Mpuguso Middle School in Rungwe District, Southern Highlands Province, was Godfrey Mwakikagile. He became an African studies scholar and author of many non-fiction books on African history, economics, and politics. Levitt also taught Oscar Mwamwaja, one of