Garson was born in Washington, D.C., and spent his formative years in West Palm Beach, Florida. He then attended undergraduate school at Tulane University followed by graduate degrees at Johns Hopkins University and at USC, where he also served as an instructor.Garson has traveled to 25 countries include Russia, Japan and Turkey. His martial arts training in traditional Japanese karate began in 1967, and continued as a student of Sensei Hidetaka Nishiyama at the National Karate Institute in Los Angeles, where he earned his YonDan (4th degree black belt). His martial arts training included instruction under Sensei Robert Bryner in Ryu-te and Aikido.

Garson started writing from an early age. In 1973, he wrote and had published his first novel, a science fiction work titled The Great Quill, which was published by Doubleday. Several years followed as a high school teacher and freelance writer, as well as an editor at several publishing companies including Peterson Publishing, McMullen Publishing and Paisano Publications. In 2005, he published Born to Be Wild, which cataloged the history of the motorcycle. He has authored over 2,000 articles for various automotive, motorcycle and lifestyle magazines, as well as other genres including WWII history. His most recent nonfiction book, Album of the Damned: Snapshots from the Third Reich, was published in October 2008 by Academy Chicago Publishers. Favorable reviews appeared in the New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Penthouse magazine and other periodicals. He currently lives and writes in Los Angeles. He has a son, Grant Nathaniel Garson. Along with Christian Lukather, he co-founded the literary website, The Writing Disorder.