Akram Najjar completed a B. Sc. in physics and mathematics at the American University of Beirut (1966), Lebanon. While completing his requirements, he took all of his electives in literature and philosophy, subjects that never left him.

He then completed another B. Sc. in electrical and electronic engineering from the Hatfield Polytechnic in England (1969). (Now it is the University of Hertfordshire). As for the Masters, he completed course requirements for an M. Sc. in Systems Engineering at the American University of Beirut (1972).

Akram spent the first half of his career developing software applications for business concerns. The second half saw a change of career as he moved into consulting and management training.

Earlier than that . . .

When Akram was 15, he had the luck of being moved to a special class of accelerated English. It was not a language as much as an introspective class. The teacher concentrated on analyzing fiction, one novel a week. He also pushed the few in the class towards writing. They had the choice of developing any subject in their weekly essays. In time, Akram reached a zero point, a point where he felt all meaning was drained from any expression he wished to write. Worried, he tried to convince his teacher to return him to the regular stream. The reaction was: “Look here, I got you into this course so that you can reach this stage, and you will be reaching it many more times in the future”.

This dual exposure to literature and introspection stayed with him and in spite of becoming an IT professional, he retained his love for philosophy and literature often being more involved in them than in his technology. Akram tried his hand at different literary genres: poetry, plays, novels. None felt natural to him as much as the short story.

His other Literary works are detailed on their dedicated website:
www.marginalstories.com

His technical eBooks are fully detailed on his website:
www.marginalbooks.com

His puzzle books are detailed on these websites:
foxycardtricks.com
foxyriddles.com (riddles, puzzles and brain-teasers)