Timeline of Writers (B)Â
1961-Present
Return to home
Writers before
1961
1961Â Â Â Â Â
   Jan 10, Dashiell Hammett (66), author, died in
NYCÂ from throat cancer. In 1983 Diane Johnson authored his
biography. His books included “The Maltese Falcon” and “The Thin
Man,” both of which were turned into films. He wrote “The Maltese
Falcon” while living in San Francisco at 891 Post St., which was
also given as the address of detective Sam Spade.
   (www.imdb.com/name/nm0358591/)(SFC, 6/7/04, p.C2)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, "The Agony and the
Ecstasy" was published by Irving Stone.
   (HN, 3/16/98)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, A Pulitzer prize
was awarded to Harper Lee, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird."
   (MC, 5/1/02)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 2, George S. Kaufman
(72), playwright, director, Pulitzer prize winner, died.
   (SC, 6/2/02)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Louis-Ferdinand
Celine (b.1894), French physician, author, anti-Semite, died. His
books included “Journey to the End of Night” (1932).
   (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/lfceline.htm)(WSJ, 9/23/06,
p.P8)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Novelist E.
Hemingway shot himself in the head at his home in Ketchum, Idaho.
Boozing and physical trauma led to depression, electroshock therapy
and suicide. In 1964 his novel "A Moveable Feast was published. In
1974Â Â Â Jose Luis Castillo-Puche published "Hemingway
in Spain." His novel "True at First Light" was based on his 1953
safari in Africa and was to be published Jul 21 1999, the centennial
of his birth. His book "The Garden of Eden" and "Islands in the
Stream" were also published after his death. His novel "Dangerous
Summer" was based on the rivalry between two matadors, Antonio
Ordonez (d.1998) and Luis Miguel Dominguin. In 1976 his son
Gregory (d.2001) authored "Papa: A Personal Memoir."
   (SFC, 7/2/96, p.A11)(TMC, 1994, p.1961)(AP,
7/2/97)(SFC, 8/5/98, p.E3)(SFC, 8/25/98, p.A2)(SFC, 12/21/98,
p.B5)(WSJ, 6/18/99, p.W13)(SFC, 10/6/01, p.A18)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 2, James Thurber
(b.1894), humorist (The Male Animal), died at age 66. In 1975 Burton
Bernstein authored "Thurber: A Biography." In 2003 Harrison Kinney
and Rosemary A. Thurber edited "The Thurber Letters."
   (MC, 11/2/01)(WSJ, 8/1/03, p.W10)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 12, Frantz Fanon
(b.1925), Martinique-born writer, psychiatrist, and revolutionary
died in Washington, DC. His work foretold of Third World liberation
struggles. His book “Wretched of the Earth” (1961) celebrated
anti-colonial revolutionaries. In 2008 John Edgar Wideman authored
his novel “Fanon” based on Fanon’s life.
   (SSFC, 10/5/03, p.M2)(WSJ, 2/15/08,
p.W2)(www.kirjasto.sci.fi/fanon.htm)(Econ, 4/17/10, SR p.16)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Ivo Andric of Yugoslavia
won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
   (AP, 10/8/09)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Irene Kampen (d.1998 at
75) wrote her first of ten books on her life following a divorce:
"Life Without George." The books became the basis for the TV sitcom:
"The Lucy Show" (1962-1974), which followed Lucille Ball’s divorce
with Desi Arnaz.
   (SFC, 2/10/98, p.A22)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â William Saroyan published
his autobiography: "Here Comes There Goes You Know Who."
   (SFEM, 4/27/97, p.11)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â "Academic Women" by Prof.
Jessie Bernard (1903-1996) was published. She soon retired but
continued writing. Her works included "The Sex Game," "The Female
World," "The Future of Marriage," and "The Future of Motherhood."
   (SFC, 10/12/96, p.A21)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Stanislaw Lem wrote
"Memoirs Found in a Bathtub." He pondered the growing vulnerability
of civilization to a disruption of its information flow.
   (WSJ, 5/6/97, p.A23)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Benjamin Quarles
(1904-1996), historian, published "The Negro in the American
Revolution."
   (SFC, 11/19/96, p.B2)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â J.D. Salinger published
"Franny and Zooey."
   (SFC, 3/22/99, p.A2)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â D.W. Sciama published his
book "The Unity of the Universe."
   (TNG, Klein, p.154)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Joseph Weber, prof. of
physics at Univ. of Maryland, published his "Gravitational
Relativity and Gravitational Waves."
   (TNG, Klein, p.130)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Gerald J. Whitrow (d.2000
at 87), mathematician and philosopher, published "The Nature of
Time."
   (SFC, 6/27/00, p.A23)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â "The Soft Machine" by
William Burroughs was published.
   (SFEC, 8/3/97, p.B6)  Â
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â The children’s classic
"James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl was published.
   (SFEC, 8/25/96, Par p.9)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Joseph Heller published
"Catch-22." Heller had made an enormous hand-written plan for the
book to keep track of the timeline.
   (SFC, 4/28/98, p.A2)(Econ., 7/25/20, p.68)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Richard Hughes authored
his historical novel "The Fox in the Attic," based on Hitler’s
failed 1923 putsch.
   (NW, 8/20/01, p.56)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert A. Heinlein
(1906-1988) authored his sci-fi masterpiece “Stranger in a Strange
Land.” It was about a human child raised on Mars by Martians and
brought to Earth.
   (WSJ, 1/26/07, p.D7)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Jane Jacobs authored "The
Death and Life of Great American Cities." It was based on her
experiences in Greenwich Village.
   (SFEC, 6/25/00, BR p.4)(WSJ, 10/11/00, p.24)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â "The Phantom Tollbooth" by
Norton Juster was published. It was illustrated by Jules Feiffer.
   (SFEC, 2/27/00, BR p.12)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)
authored “A Grief Observed,” a collection of his reflections on the
experience of bereavement following the death of his wife, Joy
Davidman, in 1960.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Grief_Observed)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â James Michener (d.1997 at
90) wrote "Report of the County Chairman."
   (SFC,10/17/97, p.A17)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Walker Percy authored his
novel "The Moviegoer."
   (SSFC, 4/20/03, p.M3)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Harold Robbins (d.1997)
wrote his novel "Carpetbaggers," based on the life of Howard Hughes.
   (SFC,10/15/97, p.C4)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â J.D. Salinger published
"Franny and Zooey."
   (SFC, 11/23/98, p.E2)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Muriel Spark published her
novel "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."
   (WSJ, 4/11/97, p.A12)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â John Updike wrote "Rabbit
Run."
   (SFEC, 9/28/97, BR p.3)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Kurt Vonnegut wrote his
novel "Mother Night."
   (SFC, 11/15/96, p.C3)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, C. Wright Mills
(45), US sociologist (Power Elite), died.
   (MC, 3/20/02)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â May 7, A Pulitzer prize
was awarded to Theodore H. White (Making of President).
   (MC, 5/7/02)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â May 12, Dick Calkins,
co-author of Buck Rogers, died at 67.
   (SC, Internet, 5/12/97)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 1, The Conference of
African Writers of English Expression opened at Makerere, Uganda.
The CIA was the original funder of the Makerere conference in an
effort to influence the eventual decolonization of east Africa.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Writers_Conference)(Econ,
10/22/16, p.75)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Jul 6, William Cuthbert Faulkner (b.1897), US writer (Nobel 1949),
died in Oxford, Miss. In 2004 Jay Parini authored “One Matchless
Time: A Life of William Faulkner.”
   (WSJ, 10/28/04,
p.A1)(www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/faulkner_william/)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 1, Ludwig Bemelmans
(1898), Austrian-born writer of children’s books, died in NYC. His
1st Madeline book was published in 1939.
  Â
(www.kidsreads.com/series/series-madeline-author.asp)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Helen Gurley Brown
(1922-2012) authored "Sex and the Single Girl." In 2009 Jennifer
Scanlon authored “Bad Girls Go Everywhere: The Life of Helen Gurley
Brown.” In 2016 Brooke Hauser authored “Enter Helen: Helen Gurley
Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman.”
   (NW, 6/23/03, p.65)(WSJ, 4/10/09, p.W7)(SFC,
8/14/12, p.A5)(Econ, 4/16/15, p.69)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Anthony Burgess authored
his dystopian novel “A Clockwork Orange.” It was made into a 1971
movie by Stanley Kubrick.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Spanish novelist Miguel
Delibes (1920-2010) authored "Las Ratas," in which he mentions a
village where people eat rats. The book won the Premio de la Crítica
(Critics Award for Castilian fiction).
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Delibes)(Econ., 1/16/21, p.12)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Sebastian de Grazia
(1917-2000), political scientist and Pulitzer Prize winning writer,
authored “Of Time, Work and Leisure.”
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Time,_Work,_and_Leisure)(Econ,
12/20/14, p.96)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Ken Kesey (1935-2001)
published his novel: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest."
   (WSJ, 5/15/00, p.A46)(SSFC, 11/11/01, p.A1)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Walker Percy (1916-1990),
physician, novelist (Lancelot), won the National Book Award for his
book "The Moviegoer."
    (WSJ, 3/26/03, p.D8)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Alexander Solzhenitsyn
(43) published "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch." It first
appeared in the Soviet magazine Novy Mir. In 1998 D.M. Thomas
published the biography: Alexander Solzhenitsyn: A Century in His
Life." In 1985 Michael Scammell published his biography:
"Solzhenitsyn."
   (SFEC, 3/8/98, BR p.9)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Dido Sotiriou authored
“Farewell Anatolia,” a novel of 2 shepherd boys, one Christian and
one Muslim, who go off to fight on opposite sides during the
Greek-Turkish war of 1919-22.
   (Econ, 7/17/04, p.79)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Sylvia Plath (30),
American writer, committed suicide by gas in London after Ted Hughes
left her for another woman. Her autobiographical novel "The Bell
Jar" was published this year. She had been married to English poet
Ted Hughes (d.1998), who in 1998 published a 198 page book of verse
"Birthday Letters" based on their relationship. The woman for whom
Hughes left Plath committed suicide 5 years later. Plath’s 1981
"Collected Poems" won a Pulitzer Prize. The Plath book of poems
"Ariel" was published after her death. In 2000 her uncensored
diaries: "The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath," were edited by
Karen V. Kukil. Carl Rollyson authored “American Isis: The Life and
Art of Sylvia Plath” (2013). Andrew Wilson authored “Mad Girl’s Love
Song: Sylvia Plath and Life Before Ted” (2013).
   (SFC, 1/19/98, p.A10)(SFEC, 2/1/98, p.C5)(SFEC,
3/26/00, p.A25)(SFEC, 11/12/00, BR p.1)(SSFC, 2/17/13, p.F5)(Econ,
3/9/13, p.84)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, Aldous L. Huxley
(69), English author (Devils of Loudon, Brave New World), died in
Los Angeles.
   (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/ahuxley.htm)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, C.S. Lewis,
English author the Narnia series and other books, died of
osteoporosis. In 2005 Alan Jacobs authored “The Narnian,” a
biography of Lewis. In 2013 Alister McGrath authored “C.S. Lewis--A
Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet.”
   (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/cslewis.htm)(WSJ, 10/15/05,
p.P13)(Econ, 5/18/13, p.88)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â May 6, A Pulitzer prize in
the general nonfiction category was awarded to American historian
Barbara Tuchman for “Guns of August” (1962), an account of the first
month of WWI.
   (www.historyorb.com/date/1963/may/6)(Econ,
3/29/14, p.88)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 17, John Cowper Powys
(b.1872), English author, died. In 2007 Morine Krissdottir authored
“Descent of Memory: The Life of John Cowper Powys.” His 10 novels
included “Wolf Solent,” the story of a young man’s rebellion against
the modern world.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cowper_Powys)(WSJ, 9/8/07, p.P9)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, Jean Cocteau,
French author (La Voie Humaine), surrealist poet, artist and film
director, died at 73. His lover Lean Marais later published a
biography of Cocteau called "L’Inconcevable Jean Cocteau." In 2003
Claude Arnaud authored the biography "Jean Cocteau."
   (SFC, 11/10/98, p.A24)(SFC, 10/6/03, p.D8)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â German playwright Rolf
Hochhuth produced "The Deputy." The work indicted Pope Pius XII for
Nazi complicity during WW II.
   (WSJ, 4/25/97, p.A18)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Hannah Arendt authored
"Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil."
   (WSJ, 8/31/99, p.A22)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Nora Beloff (1919-1997),
British political writer and foreign correspondent, wrote "The
General Says No: Britain’s Exclusion from Europe."
   (SFC, 2/24/96, p.A17)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Alton L. Blakeslee (d.1997
at 83) wrote "Your Heart has Nine Lives" with Dr. Jeremiah B.
Stamler. He was the chief science writer for the Associated Press
(AP) for 3 decades.
   (SFC, 5/14/97, p.A22)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â John Campbell Bruce
(1906-1996) wrote "Escape From Alcatraz". It was based on a true
1962 escape. The book was turned into a film in 1979.
   (SFC, 7/9/96, p.20)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â John le Carre (b.1931 as
David Cornwell) authored “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.”
   (Econ, 5/18/13, IL p.19)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Donald Davidson (d.2003 at
86), Prof. of Philosophy at UC Berkeley, authored "Actions, Reasons
and Causes."
   (SFC, 9/4/03, p.A23)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â John Fowles (1926-2005),
English novelist, authored "The Collector."
   (Econ, 11/1/03, p.82)(SFC, 11/8/05, p.B5)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â The "Feminine Mystique" by
Betty Friedan (1921-2006) was published.
   (SFC, 10/12/96, p.A21)(SSFC, 2/5/06, p.A6)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Milton Friedman
(1912-2006) and Anna Jacobson Schwartz authored “A Monetary History
of the United States: 1867-1960.” They argued that the US depression
of the 1930s was the result of an inept Federal Reserve.
   (WSJ, 12/7/05, p.A15)(Econ, 11/25/06, p.80)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Abraham Maslow, a pioneer
of humanistic psychology, wrote "Eupsychian Management, A Journal."
It described the management style he witnessed at Non-Linear
Systems. He labeled it "enlightened management" to describe work
conditions that incorporated synergy and led to individual
"self-actualization."
   (WSJ, 4/25/97, p.B1)(WSJ, 10/10/97, p.B1)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Ernst Mayr wrote "Animal
Species and Evolution."
   (NH, 2/97, p.69)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Mary McCarthy authored her
novel “The Group.” It followed a group of Vassar graduates from 1933
to the start of WWII.
   (WSJ, 4/19/08, p.W8)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â James Michener (d.1997 at
90) wrote his novel "Caravans," the fruit of wide-ranging trips to
Afghanistan in the mid-1950s.
   (SFC,10/17/97, p.A17)(WSJ, 7/5/08, p.W8)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â "The American Way of
Death" by Jessica Mitford (d.7/24/96) was published. It was an
expose of the funeral industry in the US. A revised edition was
published in 1998.
   (SFC, 6/30/96, Zone 1 p.3)(SFEC, 8/16/98, BR p.1)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Daniel Patrick Moynihan,
later senator and ambassador, authored "Beyond the Melting Pot," a
description of the ethnic groups in NYC.
   (SFC, 11/7/98, p.A2)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Sir Lawrence van der Post
(1906-1996) wrote "The Seed and the Sower." It was filmed in 1983 as
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence with David Bowie.
   (SFC, 12/17/96, p.B4)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Dawn Powell published the
novel "The Golden Spur."
   (SFEC, 2/14/99, BR p.5)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Alfred Pritchard Sloan
Jr., former head of General Motors Corp., authored "My Life With
General Motors."
   (F, 10/7/96, p.132)(Econ, 12/22/07, p.123)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Giorgos Seferis,
Turkish-born Greek, won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
   (AP, 10/8/09)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Ezra Solomon (d.2002 at
82), Stanford economics professor, authored "The Theory of Financial
Management."
   (SFC, 12/21/02, p.A22)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Jim Thompson authored his
novel "The Grifters." It was made into a film in 1990.
   (WSJ, 8/27/01, p.A13)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Charles Webb authored his
novel "The Graduate." It was turned into a movie in 1967.
   (WSJ, 5/8/01, p.B1)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, Brendan Behan
(b.1923), Irish playwright and author, died in Dublin.
   (SSFC, 3/16/14, DB
p.42)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Behan)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, Rachel L. Carson
(56), American biologist, author (Silent spring), died. She raised
public awareness of environmental pollution and ecological issues
with a number of best-selling books--notably Silent Spring (1962).
In 1997 Linda Gear wrote the biography: "Rachel Carson: Witness for
Nature."
   (SFEC, 9/14/97, BR p.3)(HNQ, 4//01)(MC, 4/14/02)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 18, Ben Hecht (71),
playwright (Child of the Century), died.
   (MC, 4/18/02)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Ian L. Fleming
(56), British spy, journalist, writer (James Bond), died. He had
recently sold a 51% share of the copyright of his books to Sir Jock
Campbell, who chaired the Booker Brothers. In 2000 Fleming’s heirs
bought back the copyright to the books.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Fleming)(Econ,
5/31/08, p.90)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Vasily Grossman
(b.1905), Ukraine-born journalist and writer, died in Moscow. His
eyewitness reports of a Nazi extermination camp, following the
discovery of Treblinka, were among the earliest accounts of a Nazi
death camp by a reporter. His novels included "Stalingrad) (1952)
and "Life and Fate" (1960). In 2019 Alexandra Popoff authored Vasily
Grossman and the Soviet Century."
   (WSJ, 5/5/07,
p.P16)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Grossman)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â Ken Kesey (1935-2001)
authored "Sometimes a Great Notion." To celebrate Kesey and 14
Merry Pranksters drove to the NY World’s Fair in a 1939 Int’l.
Harvester school bus with Neal Cassidy driving. The trip was
immortalized in "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe in
1968.
   (SSFC, 11/11/01, p.A1)(SSFC, 11/30/03, p.E1)(SFC,
2/15/18, p.D3)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â J.P. Martin (1879-1966),
English Methodist minister, published the 1st of his Uncle series of
children‘s books.
   (Econ, 12/24/05,
p.113)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.P._Martin)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Flannery O'Connor
(b.1925), novelist and short story writer, died in Georgia of lupus,
an incurable, autoimmune disease. In 2009 Brad Gooch authored
“Flannery: A Life of Flannery O’Connor.”
  Â
(www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-498)(Econ,
2/28/09, p.89)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert Heinlein
(1907-1988), libertarian sci-fi writer, published "Farnham's
Freehold."
   (SFEC, 12/27/98, BR
p.3)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â Jane Rule (1931-2007),
American-born Canadian writer, authored her novel, “Desert of the
Heart.” It later became recognized as a landmark work of lesbian
fiction.
   (SFC, 12/10/07, p.C5)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, Erik A. Blomberg
(70), Swedish art historian, poet, author, died.
   (MC, 4/8/02)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, Perry E. Smith and
Robert E. Hickok, US murderers, were hanged. Their 1959 murder of a
Kansas farm family was described by Truman Capote (1924-1984) in his
1965 book: “In Cold Blood”
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Smith_(murderer))(WSJ, 5/19/07,
p.P8)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 23, Ken Kesey, author
of "Sometimes a Great Notion," and 13 pals, that included Neal
Cassidy, were arrested in La Honda for growing Marijuana.
   (SFC, 5/24/97, p.A8)(SSFC, 6/18/17, DB p.54)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, J. K. Rowling,
British writer, was born in Yate, Gloucestershire. She became famous
for her Harry Potter fantasy series. By 2012 she was the world’s
richest author with a net worth of some $910
million.  Â
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._K._Rowling)(http://tinyurl.com/8mvqqjl)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Shirley Jackson,
writer and author of horror fiction, died in Vermont. Her work
included "The Haunting of Hill House" (1959) and "The Lottery"
(1948). In 1997 a collection of short fiction was published titled
"Just an Ordinary Day." In 2016 Ruth Franklin authored “Shirley
Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life.”
   (SFEM, 1/12/97, BR p.3)(Econ, 9/24/16,
p.80)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Vasily Grossman
(b.1964, Soviet writer, died in Moscow. In 1961 his novel “Life and
Fate,” a book about Nazis and Soviets at war, was confiscated. A
copy was smuggled to the US and published in English 1985. In 2011
the BBC dramatized the book on Radio 4.
   (Econ, 9/10/11,
p.98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Grossman)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, Somerset Maugham
(91), British playwright and author, died in France. His books
included “Of Human Bondage” (1915) and “The Moon and Sixpence”
(1919), a novel whose main character is based on Paul Gauguin. In
2004 Jeffrey Meyers authored "Somerset Maugham: A Life."
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Somerset_Maugham)(SSFC, 2/29/04,
p.M3)(Econ, 3/6/04, p.75)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Â James Leo Herlihy
authored his novel "Midnight Cowboy." Jerome Hellman (1928-2021)
produced the film version in 1969.
   (NY Times, 6/3/21)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Irving Kristol
(1920-2009), political writer and publisher, and Daniel Bell
(1919-2011) founded the “Public Interest,” an American quarterly
public policy journal.
   (Econ, 9/26/09,
p.100)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Public_Interest)
1966Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Supreme Court
reversed Massachusetts ruling that Fanny Hill" is obscene.
   (MC, 3/21/02)
1966Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 2, Cecil Scott
Forester (66), English author (Horatio Hornblower), died.
   (MC, 4/2/02)
1966Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 10, Evelyn Waugh
(b.1903), British writer, satirist (Brideshead Revisited), died. He
also wrote “The Loved Ones,” a satire on California burial customs
and “Vile Bodies.” His correspondence with Nancy Mitford, novelist
of manners, was edited by Charlotte Mosley and published in 1997. In
2007 Alexander Waugh, grandson of Evelyn Waugh, authored “Fathers
and Sons,” his biography of the Waugh family.
   (WSJ, 4/29/97, p.A18)(SFC, 9/11/04, p.E1)(WSJ,
5/26/07, p.P6)
1966Â Â Â Â Â Â S.Y. Agnon (1888-1970),
Jewish writer, shared the Nobel Prize in Literature with Nelly
Sachs, a German-born Swede.
   (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/agnon.htm)(AP, 10/8/09)
1966Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert Heinlein
(1907-1988) published his novel “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.” His
setting was a penal colony on the moon in 2075.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.383)(WSJ, 4/18/09, p.W8)
1966Â Â Â Â Â Â Frederick Knott (d.2002 at
86), playwright, wrote "Wait Until Dark." It ran for 373
performances on Broadway. In 1967 Terence Young made it into a film.
   (SFC, 12/24/02, p.A16)
1966Â Â Â Â Â Â Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel
Prize (1988), published his novel "Adrift on the Nile."
   (SSFC, 10/19/03, p.C11)
1966Â Â Â Â Â Â Mary Renault (b.1905),
English and South African writer, authored "Mask of Apollo." Here
she said "In hatred as in love, we grow like the thing we brood
upon. What we loathe, we graft into our very soul."
   (https://tinyurl.com/yb8nxlux)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, Alice B. Toklas
(b.1877), the life partner of writer Gertrude Stein, died In Paris,
France. Her work included “The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook” (1954). In
2007 Janet Malcolm authored “Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice.”
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_B._Toklas)(WSJ, 9/25/07, p.D6)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, A Pulitzer prize
was awarded to Bernard Malamud (Fixer).
   (MC, 5/1/02)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â May 22, J. Langston Hughes
(b.1902), poet laureate, US author (Tambourines to Glory), died.
   (MC, 5/22/02)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 3, Arthur Ransome
(b.1884), English author of children’s adventure stories, died. He
is best known for writing the “Swallows and Amazons” series of
children's books. It is believed that he served as a double agent
and worked in the Russian service after the collapse of the Czarist
regime. In 1918 he wrote a propaganda pamphlet titled: “On Behalf of
Russia: An Open Letter to America.” In 2009 Roland Chambers authored
“The Last Englishman: The Double Life of Arthur Ransome.”
   (Econ, 8/29/09,
p.73)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Ransome)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, Author Carson
McCullers (b.1917) died in Nyack, N.Y., at age 50. Her first novel
“The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” explores the spiritual isolation of
misfits and outcasts of the US South. Her short story “The Ballad of
the Sad Café” (1951) was turned into a play by Edward Albee and was
made into a film (1991) of the same name with Vanessa Redgrave.
   (AP,
9/29/07)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carson_McCullers)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â Miguel A. Asturias
(1899-1974) of Guatemala won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
   (AP,
10/8/09))(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_%C3%81ngel_Asturias)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â John Gregory Dunne
(1932-2003) authored "Delano," an account of the California grape
strike.
   (SFC, 1/1/04, p.A23)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â S.E. Hinton authored “The
Outsiders,” her 1st novel. In 1983 a film version starred Emilio
Estevez, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, and Tom Cruise.
It was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Fred Roos.
   {Writer, film}
   (SFC, 9/20/05, p.E1)(www.sehinton.com/bio/)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â Margaret Lovett (b.1910),
English writer, authored "The Great and Terrible Quest," a
children's historical novel set in medieval Italy.
   (Econ, 8/30/03, p.62)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â Norman Mailer (1923-2007),
American writer, authored “Why Are We in Vietnam.”
   (SSFC, 11/11/07, p.A7)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â The book "A Hundred Years
of Solitude," by Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez (b.1927),
was published in Spanish.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Hundred_Years_of_Solitude)
1967Â Â Â Â Â Â Author Alexander
Solzhenitsyn met with Olga Andreyev Carlisle in Moscow. She agreed
to get smuggled copies of "The First Circle" and "The Gulag
Archipelago" published in the West. The novel, completed in 1964,
was banned by Soviet officials. A shortened version came out in
English in 1968. After some years a feud ensued when Solzhenitsyn
accused Carlisle of being motivated only by profit and personal
acclaim. An unedited English version was scheduled for publication
in 2009.
   (SSFC, 1/25/04, p.A1)(SFC, 7/16/08, p.E6)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Edna Ferber
(b.1885), US author and playwright, died in NYC. Her novels included
“Show Boat” (1926), which was produced on Broadway in 1927 and later
adopted 4 times as a movie.
  Â
(www.apl.org/history/ferber/edna.bio.html)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edna_Ferber)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, William Styron
(1925-2006), a white author, received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
for “The Confessions of Nat Turner” (1967). The book was based on
the true story of an 1831 slave revolt in Virginia. Some black
intellectuals, including Cornell historian John Henrik Clarke,
published a critical response to the book.
  Â
(www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rfk/sfeature/sf_1968_text_05.html)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, George Gamow
(b.1904), physicist and writer, died. He popularized the idea of The
Big Bang.
  Â
(V.D.-H.K.p.335)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gamow)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Charles Jackson
(b.1903), American writer, died of barbiturate poisoning in NYC. He
was known for his novel “The Lost Weekend” (1944). In 2013 Blake
Bailey authored “Farther & Wilder: The Lost Weekends and
Literary Dreams of Charles Jackson.”
   (SSFC, 3/24/13, p.F2)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 25, Upton B. Sinclair
(b.1878), US novelist and social reformer (Jungle), died at age 90.
His work included almost 50 novels, over 20 nonfiction books, plays
and countless pieces of journalism. In 1975 Leon A. Harris Jr.
(d.2000) authored "Upton Sinclair, American Rebel." In 2006 Anthony
Arthur authored “Radical Innocent: Upton Sinclair.”
  Â
(www.americanwriters.org/writers/sinclair.asp)(WSJ, 2/23/06,
p.D8)(WSJ, 6/10/06, p.P8)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, Thomas Merton, a
Trappist monk writer, died in Bangkok, Thailand from accidental
electrocution. He had just finished his 7th journal "The Other side
of the Mountain." Merton was influenced by the Hindu scholar
Mahanambrata Brahmachari (d.1999). Merton's work also the spiritual
autobiography "The Seven Story Mountain." In 1978 Monica Furlong
(d.2003) authored a biography of Merton.
   (SFC, 2/24/98, p.A22)(SFEC, 9/27/98, BR p.3)(SFC,
11/2/99, p.A26)(SFC, 2/3/03, p.B4)(WSJ, 3/26/03, p.D8)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 20, John Steinbeck
(b.1902), California-born author, died from a bad heart in New York
City at age 66. He won the Nobel Prize in 1940. In 1995 Jay Parini
published "John Steinbeck: A Biography."
   (AP, 12/20/97)(SFEC, 6/21/98, DB
p.35)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Roland Barthes
(1915-1980), French literary critic, published his essay “The Death
of the Author.” In his essay, Barthes criticizes the reader's
tendency to consider aspects of the author's identity—his political
views, historical context, religion, ethnicity, psychology, or other
biographical or personal attributes—to distill meaning from his
work.
   (WSJ, 8/2/08,
p.W9)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_the_author)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Richard Bradford
(1932-2002) authored his novel "Red Sky at Morning." A film version
was released in 1971.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bradford)(SFC, 11/8/99,
p.C2)(SFC, 3/27/02, p.A21)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Herb Caen (1916-1997), SF
newspaper columnist, wrote his 7th book: "City of Golden Hills."
   (SFEC, 2/2/97, p.A13)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Carlos Castaneda (d.1998
at 72) published his thesis: "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way
of Knowledge," with the Univ. of Calif. Press. It became an int’l.
best seller. He went on to publish "A Separate Reality," "Journey to
Ixtlan," and others.
   (SFC, 6/19/98, p.A2)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â "The Warrior Pharaohs" by
British author Leonard Cottrell (1913-1974) was published by Evans
Brothers Ltd, London.
   (L.C.-W.P.,
1968)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cottrell)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Philip Dick (1928-1982)
authored his sci-fi novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." In
1982 it was made into the film "Blade Runner."
   (SFC, 6/25/02,
p.D1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Frederick Exley
(1929-1992), American novelist, published his book "A Fan’s Notes,"
a fictional memoir of his failed life. In 1997 Jonathon Yardley
published: "Misfit: The Strange Life of Frederick Exley."
   (SFEC, 8/17/97, BR
p.3)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Exley)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Don Freeman (1908-1978),
painter and children’s writer, authored "Corduroy," the story of a
teddy bear named Corduroy, who is bought in a department store by a
girl named Lisa.
   (SFEC, 2/27/00, BR
p.12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Freeman)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Graham Greene wrote
"Travels With My Aunt." In 1989 it was adopted for stage by Giles
Havergal, director of the Citizens’ Theater in Glasgow.
   (SFEC, 1/5/97, DB p.25)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Arthur Hailey (1920-2004)
author his best-selling novel ”Airport.”
   (HN, 4/5/01)(SFC, 11/26/04, p.B3)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â H. Richard Hornberger
(1924-1997), under the pseudonym of Richard Hooker, collaborated
with W.C. Heinz on the Korean War novel "MASH." It was made into a
film in 1970 and a TV series (1972-1977).
   (SFEC, 8/29/99, BR
p.3)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Richard_Hornberger)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Chuang Hua (1931-2000),
the pen name of Stella Yang Copley, authored her novel “Crossings,”
an experimental novel on the life of a first generation
Chinese-American woman.
  Â
(www.ndpublishing.com/books/chuanghuacrossings.html)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Norman Mailer authored
"The Armies of the Night: History as a Novel/The Novel as History,"
a nonfiction novel recounting the October 1967 March on the
Pentagon.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Armies_of_the_Night)(AP, 2/4/21)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â James Michener
(1907-1997), American author, wrote his travel book "Iberia," a
detailed and illustrated exploration of Spain at it was during the
mid 1960s.
   (SFC,10/17/97,
p.A17)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Michener)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Anton Myrer (1922-1996),
American writer, authored "Once an Eagle," a story of the US Army
from WW I to Vietnam. It pitted an honorable officer against a
self-serving officer and sold millions of copies.
   (SFC, 8/20/99,
p.D7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Myrer)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â William Safire
(1929-2009), conservative journalist and presidential speechwriter,
authored “Safire’s Political Dictionary.”
   (Econ, 10/3/09, p.11)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Tom Wolfe (b.1931),
American writer and journalist, authored "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid
Test." It was about the 1964 road trip by Ken Kesey and the Merry
Pranksters to the NY World’s Fair.
   (SSFC, 11/11/01,
p.A16)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolfe)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Max Forrester
Eastman (b.1883), US critic and essayist, died. His books
included “Love and Revolution: My Journey Through an Epoch”
(1964).
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Eastman)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, Writer John
Kennedy Toole (b.1937) committed suicide in Mississippi at the age
of 32. His mother helped get his first and only novel, "A
Confederacy of Dunces," published. It went on to win the 1981
Pulitzer Prize. In 2020 Kent Carroll and Jodee Blanco authored "I,
John Kennedy Toole," a fictionalized portrait of the author.
   (HN,
3/26/01)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kennedy_Toole)(Econ.,
5/30/20, p.72)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, B. Traven
(b.1890), novelist and short-story writer, died. He lived most of
his life incognito in Mexico. His work included "The Treasure of the
Sierra Madre" (1934), "The Death Ship," The Rebellion of the Hanged"
and "The General from the Jungle." In 1976 Michael L. Baumann
authored "B. Traven, An Introduction." In 2000 Michael L. Baumann
authored "Mr. Traven, I Presume."
   (SFEC, 10/15/00, BR
p.8)(www.kirjasto.sci.fi/traven.htm)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â May 4, F. Osbert S.
Sitwell (76), English poet (Who Killed Cock Robin?), died.
   (MC, 5/4/02)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â May 5, A Pulitzer prize
was awarded to Norman Mailer (Armies of the Night).
   (MC, 5/5/02)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Leonard Sidney
Woolf (b.1880), English publisher, writer, died. He was the husband
of writer and critic Virginia Woolf (1882-1941). His books included
“The Village in the Jungle,” a novel based on his time in Sri Lanka
(1904-1911). In 2006 Victoria Glendinning authored “Leonard Woolf: A
Biography.”
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Woolf)(Econ, 9/16/06, p.93)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, Jack Kerouac (47),
Beat Generation chronicler, died of alcoholism in St. Petersburg,
Fla. He wrote "On the Road" (1957), "Desolation Angels," "Vanity of
Duluoz," and "Dharma Bums." Japhy Ryder the Zen hobo-poet in the
book was modeled after poet Gary Snyder. In 1979 Dennis McNally
authored the biography "Desolate Angel." In 1998 Ellis Amburn
published "Subterranean Kerouac: The Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac."
In 1999 Barry Miles published "Jack Kerouac, King of the Beats: A
Portrait." In 2004 Douglas Brinkley edited “Windblown World: The
Journals of Jack Kerouac.”
   (SFC, 6/7/96, p.A22)(SFC, 9/1/96, DB p.30)(SFEC,
5/31/98, p.A17)(SFEC, 8/9/98, BR 9 p.3)(SFEC, 1/17/99, BR p.3)(SSFC,
8/11/02, p.M1)(SSFC, 10/17/04, p.M1)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, Author Alexander
Solzhenitsyn was expelled from Soviet Writers Union.
  Â
(http://files.osa.ceu.hu/holdings/300/8/3/text/66-1-414.shtml)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â George MacDonald Fraser
(1925-2008), British writer, authored the novel “Flashman,” the 1st
in a series celebrating the adventures of Sir Harry Paget Flashman.
Brigadier-General Sir Harry Paget Flashman is a fictional character
originally created by the author Thomas Hughes in his
semi-autobiographical work Tom Brown's Schooldays, first published
in 1857. In this book, set at Rugby School, Flashman is the
notorious bully, who persecutes its eponymous hero Tom Brown.
   (WSJ, 11/5/05,
p.P8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Paget_Flashman)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Clifford Irving (b.1930),
American writer, published "Fake," the story of Hungarian art forger
Elmyr de Hory (1906-1976). The int'l. de Hory scam became public in
1967. Irving and De Hory were featured in the 1975 Orson Welles film
"F" for Fake.
   {USA, Books, Artist, Hungary}
   (SFC, 7/29/99,
p.E6)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Irving)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â James Michener
(1907-1997), American writer, authored "Presidential Lottery."
   {Writer, USA, Books}
   (SFC,10/17/97,
p.A17)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Michener)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Mario Puzo (1920-1999)
wrote his novel "The Godfather." It was made into a hit movie in
1972.
   (WSJ, 5/1/97, p.A16)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Gay Talese (b.1932)
authored “The Kingdom and the Power,” an inside story of the NY
Times from the post war period through the 1960s.
   {Journalism, NYC, USA, Books}
   (WSJ, 1/21/06,
p.P11)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Talese)
1969Â Â Â Â Â Â Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)
authored "Slaughterhouse-Five." It was set in Dresden, Germany,
during the allied bombing of the city on Feb 13, 1945. He also wrote
"Mother Night" (1961) which was made into a film in 1996.
   (WSJ, 10/22/96, p.A20)(WSJ, 11/1/96, p.A11)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, S.Y. Agnon, Jewish
writer and Nobel Prize winner (1966) died in Jerusalem. His books
included “Days of Awe,” a compendium of Jewish practices, legends
and commentaries.
   (WSJ, 9/22/07,
p.W6)(www.kirjasto.sci.fi/agnon.htm)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, John H. O'Hara
(b.1905), US journalist and novelist (Pal Joey, Rage to Live), died.
In 2003 Geoffrey Wolff authored "The Art of Burning Bridges: The
Life of John O'Hara."
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O%27Hara)(SSFC, 8/31/03, p.M2)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â May 22, Joseph W. Krutch
(b.1893), US writer, died. His books included “Measure of Man”
(1954).
  Â
(www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/323961/Joseph-Wood-Krutch)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â May 29, John Gunther
(b.1901), American journalist and author, died.
   (www.hwwilson.com/Print/14gunther.html)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, John H. O'Hara
(b.1905), US journalist and novelist (Pal Joey, Rage to Live), died.
In 2003 Geoffrey Wolff authored "The Art of Burning Bridges: The
Life of John O'Hara."
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O%27Hara)(SSFC, 8/31/03, p.M2)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â May 22, Joseph W. Krutch
(b.1893), US writer, died. His books included “Measure of Man”
(1954).
  Â
(www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/323961/Joseph-Wood-Krutch)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 7, E.M. Forster
(b.1879 as Edward Morgan Forster), English novelist, died. His
novels included “A Room With a View” (1908) and “A Passage to India”
(1924). In 2010 Frank Kermode authored “Concerning E.M. Forster.”
Wendy Moffat authored “A Great Unrecorded History: A new Life of
E.M. Forster.”
   (SFC,12/26/97,
p.C22)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._M._Forster)(Econ, 5/1/10,
p.87)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Erich M. Remarque
(b.1898), German writer, died. His books included “Im West Nichts
Neues” (All Quiet on the Western Front), 1929.
   (http://kirjasto.sci.fi/remarque.htm)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, John Roderigo Dos
Passos (b.1896), US writer (Manhattan Transfer), died.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dos_Passos)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 25, Yukio Mishima
(45), Japanese author and nationalist (Hara-kiri), invaded military
headquarters in Tokyo and committed ritual suicide samurai-style.
His death was an act of protest after he failed to persuade the
country's Self Defense Force to stage a coup and renounce the
US-imposed postwar constitution that banned Japanese aggressive
military action. His books included "The Sound of Waves" and "The
Temple and the Golden Pavilion." In 1998 Jiro Fukushima published a
memoir that contained 15 letters from Mishima and descriptions of a
sexual liaison with Mishima. A lawsuit soon halted book sales.
   (SFEC, 1/25/98, Z1 p.2)(SFC, 10/21/99, p.B7)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Richard Bach (b.1936),
American writer, authored his novel "Jonathan Livingston Seagull."
   (SFC, 6/27/00,
p.A23)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bach)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Richard N. Bolles
(1927-2017), self-published “What Color Is Your Parachute: A
Practical manual for Job Hunters and Career Changers.” In 1972 it
was recast to appeal to a wider audience. In 1979 it reached the NY
Times Best Seller list.
   (SFC, 4/4/17, p.D1)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Jim Bouton (b.1939)
published his controversial "Ball Four."
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_Four)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Dee Brown (1908-2002),
American writer, published "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,"Â a
history of Native Americans in the American West in the late
nineteenth century and their displacement and slaughter by the
United States federal government.  Â
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bury_My_Heart_at_Wounded_Knee)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â J. Desmond Clark (d.2002),
professor at UC Berkeley, authored "The Pre-history of Africa."
   (SFC, 2/16/02, p.A25)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â James Dickey (1923-1997),
American author, published his novel "Deliverance."
   (SFC,1/21/97, p.A20)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Shulamith Firestone
(1945-2012) authored “The Dialectic of Sex: The Case For Feminist
Revolution.”
   (SFC, 9/4/12, p.C4)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Germaine Greer (b.1939),
Australian academic writer, published "The Female Eunuch." The work
insisted on women's right to free sexuality and vaginal pleasure. In
1999 Christine Wallace published the biography: "Germaine Greer:
Untamed Shrew."
   (SFEC, 7/4/99, BR
p.5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_Greer)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Tony Hillerman
(1925-2008), American writer, introduced Lt. Joe Leaphorn in his
first detective novel "The Blessing Way," as an experienced police
officer who understood, but did not share his people's traditional
belief in a rich spirit world. Officer Jim Chee, introduced in
"People of Darkness" (1978), was a younger officer studying to
become a "hathaali" — Navajo for "shaman."
   (AP, 10/27/08)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â "Slag," the first major
play by English dramatist David Hare (b.1947), had its premier.
   (WSJ, 7/16/97, p.A20)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Dr. Arthur Janov authored
his int’l. bestseller “The Primal Scream,” a book that
revolutionized the world of psychotherapy.
   (www.primaltherapy.com/SEO/items_books.shtml)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Joseph Lieberman authored
"The Scorpion and the Tarantula: The Struggle to Control Atomic
Weapons 1945-1969." Lieberman stood as the Democratic candidate for
vice-president with Al Gore in 2000.
   (WSJ, 8/30/00, p.A26)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Susan Lydon (1943-2005)
authored the feminist essay “The Politics of Orgasm” in the Rolling
Stone rock magazine.
   (SSFC, 7/24/05, p.A19)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Malachi Martin (d.1999 at
78), an Irish-born former Jesuit, published "The Encounter," a study
of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
   (SFC, 7/30/99, p.D8)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â James Michener (d.1997 at
90) wrote "The Quality of Life."
   (SFC,10/17/97, p.A17)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â George L. Mosse
(1918-1999), a Univ. of Wisconsin historian, published "Germans and
Jews: The Right, the Left, and the Search for a 'Third Force' in
Pre-Nazi Germany."
   (SFEC, 1/31/99,
p.D8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mosse)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Lewis Mumford (1895-1990),
American historian of technology and science, published "The Myth of
the Machine."
   (Wired, 8/96,
p.168)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Mumford)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Michael Ondaatje, Sri
Lanka-born writer, authored his novel "The Collected Works of Billy
the Kid."
   (SSFC, 9/9/01, DB p.70)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Linus Pauling (1901-1994)
authored “Vitamin C and the Common Cold” in which he declared that
large doses of Vitamin C could ward off colds.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Pauling)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert Peterson
(1906-2006) authored “Only the Ball Was White,” the first history of
baseball’s US Negro Leagues.
   (SFC, 2/21/06, p.B5)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Harold Pinter (b.1930),
English playwright and actor, wrote his play "Old Times."
   (SFC, 6/16/98, p.D1)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Charles A. Reich (b.1928),
a professor at Yale Univ. Law School, published his "Greening of
America" first in the New Yorker and then as a book. In this work
Reich predicted that "something called Consciousness III would soon
create a social revolution by wiping out its ugly forbear,
Consciousness II."Â In 1995 he published a new book, "Opposing
the System," wherein he explained why the greening of America never
took place. In 2000 Roger Kimball followed the thread with "The Long
March." "…everything is sucked through the sieve of politics and the
ideology of victimhood."
   (WSJ, 10/3/95, p.A-18)(WSJ, 6/28/00,
p.A20)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_A._Reich)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Richard Scammon
(1915-2001) and Ben J. Wattenberg (b.1933) authored "The Real
Majority." They argued that the Democratic Party needed to focus on
social issues in order to survive.
   (SSFC, 4/29/01, p.A27)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Yasundo Takahashi
(1912-1996), professor at UC Berkeley, wrote his textbook "Control
and Dynamic Systems." It became a standard reference in the field of
control engineering, the study of how machines work.
  Â
(http://tinyurl.com/6qjaoo)(http://catalog.library.ksu.edu.sa/digital/153142.html)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Alvin Toffler (b.1928)
"Future Shock," and argued that technology was changing so rapidly
that individuals could find themselves strangers in their own
cultures.
   (HN, 10/4/00)(NW, 9/16/02, p.34D)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, Manfred Bennington
Lee (65), detective writer, died. Brooklyn cousins DanielÂ
Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) and Manford Lepofsky,
alias Manfred Bennington Lee (b.1905), used Ellery Queen as both a
fictional character and a pseudonym.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellery_Queen)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â May 3, John Toland
(1912-2004), American author and historian, won a Pulitzer
prize for “Rising Sun” (1970) which chronicles Imperial Japan
from its Manchurian involvement following World War I to the end of
World War II.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Toland_(author))
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 1, Reinhold Niebuhr
(b.1892), US theologist, died. His Serenity Prayer became widely
used by Alcoholics Anonymous: "God, give us grace to accept with
serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the
things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the
one from the other." His books included “Moral Man and Immoral
Society” (1932) and “Nature & Destiny of Man” (1942).Â
(SSFC, 5/4/03, p.F2)(WSJ, 12/29/07, p.W8)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Al Alvarez (b.1929),
British writer, authored the best seller "The Savage God: A Study of
Suicide."
   (WSJ, 12/27/00,
p.A10)(www.oundlesociety.org/AlAlvarez.asp)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Jacques Barzun (b.1907)
and Wendell Hertig Taylor (1905-1985) authored “A Catalog of Crime.”
It became recognized as the best compendium of mystery and espionage
literature ever assembled.
   (WSJ, 2/3/07,
p.P12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Catalogue_of_Crime)
1871Â Â Â Â Â Â English author Charles
Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1989), aka Lewis Carroll, authored “Through
the Looking Glass,” as sequel to “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Frederick Forsyth (b.1938)
published his thriller novel "The Day of the Jackal," about an
attempt to assassinate Charles de Gaulle. It was made into a film in
1973. It was remade into a 1997 film called "The Jackal" and another
film about Carlos the Jackal, unrelated to the book, called "The
Assignment."
   (SFC, 11/6/96, p.B8)(SFC, 3/15/97, p.A19)(WSJ,
4/18/97, p.A16)(SFEC, 8/24/97, DB p.65)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â John Gardner (1933-1982),
American novelist, authored his novel "Grendel" based on the Beowulf
poem. It retold the story from the monster’s point of view.
   (WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R53)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Ivan Illich (1926-2002),
Austrian philosopher, anarchist social critic and former Catholic
priest, authored "De-Schooling Society."
   (SFC, 12/4/02,
p.A28)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â American author Clifford
Irving (1930-2017) conned McGraw-Hill publishers into paying him a
$765,000 advance for a book on Howard Hughes. Irving and
collaborator Richard Suskind were indicted on fraud charges and
found guilty in 1972. The bogus autobiography wasn’t published until
1999.
   (SFC, 12/21/17, p.A8)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Ursula LeGuin (b.1929),
American author, published "The Lathe of Heaven," a science fiction
novel where all the dreams of the main character come true.
   (WSJ, 1/1/00,
p.R8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert Ludlum (1927-2001)
authored "The Scarlatti Inheritance," his 1st suspense novel.
   (SFC, 3/13/01,
p.A25)(www.kirjasto.sci.fi/ludlum.htm)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â John McPhee (b.1931),
American pioneer of narrative non-fiction, authored "Encounters with
the Archdruid."
   (SFC, 5/25/96,
p.A13)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McPhee)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â James Michener
(1907-1997), American writer, authored "Kent State: What Happened
and Why" as well as his novel "The Drifters."
   (SFC,10/17/97,
p.A17)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Michener)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Walker Percy (1916-1990),
American Southern writer, authored his novel "Love in the Ruins."
   (SSFC, 4/20/03,
p.M3)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_Percy)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Donald Richie (b.1924)
authored his novel ""The Inland Sea," about a lonely American
island-hopping across Japan’s Inland Sea.
   (SSFC, 11/10/02,
p.C8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Richie)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Anne Sexton (1928-1974),
American poet and writer, authored "Transformations." It retold
classic fairy stories with a Freudian twist and personal references
and formed the basis for Conrad Susa’s 1973 opera of the same name.
   (WSJ, 7/2/97, p.A12)(SFC, 6/23/98,
p.D1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Sexton)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Ngugi wa Thiongo, Kenyan
writer, published his novel “Petals of Blood.” He was soon
imprisoned by the government of Pres. Daniel arap Moi for hisÂ
satire. Upon his release he went into exile and established himself
as an American academic.
   (Econ, 8/19/06, p.70)
1971Â Â Â Â Â Â Hunter S. Thompson
(1937-2005), "gonzo journalist," wrote "Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas." It was made into a film in 1998. The term gonzo was 1st
applied to Thompson by his journalist friend Bill Cardoso (d.1006 at
68). The term had kicked around Boston for some time and was used by
youth in the 1950s to describe something as over the top.
   (SFC, 5/22/98, p.C1)(SSFC, 3/5/06, p.B7)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, John Berryman, US
poet (Imaginary Jew), died after he jumped off a bridge. His former
wife, Eileen Simpson, died in 2002. Simpson authored her memoir
"Poets in Their Youth" in 1982.
   (MC, 1/7/02)(SFC, 10/26/02, p.A24)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, Edgar P. Snow
(b.1905), US journalist and author (Battle for Asia, Red Star Over
China), died in Switzerland.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 24, Natalie Clifford
Barney (b.1876), lesbian writer and US expatriate, died in Paris. In
2002 Suzanne Rodriguez authored "Wild Heart, A Life: Natalie
Clifford Barney’s Journey From Victorian America to the Literary
Salons of Paris."
   (SSFC, 10/27/02,
p.M6)(www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7157)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â May 20, Walter Winchell
(75), columnist, narrator (Untouchables), died.
   (MC, 5/20/02)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 12, Edmund Wilson
(b.1895), author and American literary critic, died. His novels
included “Memoirs of Hecate County” (1946). In 1995 Jeffrey Meyers
wrote a biography of Mr. Wilson, wherein he documented Wilson’s
relationships with four wives and numerous mistresses as well as his
writings. In 2005 Lewis M. Dabney authored “Edmund Wilson: A Life in
Literature.” In 2007 the Library of America published 2 volumes of
his literary criticism.
   (WSJ, 4/26/95, p.A-14)(WSJ, 8/26/05,
p.W6)(www.nndb.com/people/238/000084983/)(WSJ, 9/28/07, p.W4)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â George Alec Affinger
(d.2002 at 55) authored his 1st novel "What Entropy Means to Me."
   (SFC, 4/30/02, p.A24)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Dr. Robert C. Atkins
(1930-2003), cardiologist, published his weight loss plan "Dr.
Atkins’ Diet Revolution," which allowed patients to eat fat but
restricted carbohydrates.
   (SFC, 4/18/03, p.A1)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â John Berger (b.1926),
English art critic and novelist, authored his Booker Prize-winning
novel “G.” Berger won the Booker Prize for his novel "G." He later
authored "A Seventh Man."
   (SSFC, 1/6/02, p.M2)(SSFC, 8/7/05,
p.C1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Berger)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Heinrich Boll (1917-1985)
of West Germany won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
   (AP,
10/8/09)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_B%C3%B6ll)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Paul Bowles published his
autobiography: "Without Stopping." In 1999 Jennifer Baichul
premiered her documentary on Bowles: "Let It Come Down, The Life of
Paul Bowles."
   (SFC, 7/12/99, p.E3)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Carol (Dariff) Botwin
(d.1997 at 68) wrote "Sex and the Teenage Girl."
   (SFC, 4/16/97, p.A21)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Leo Buscaglia (d.1998 at
74), published his book "Love."
   (SFC, 6/13/98, p.A21)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Herb Caen, SF newspaper
columnist, wrote his 8th book "The Cable Car and the Dragons."
   (SFEC, 2/2/97, p.A13)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Italo Calvino (1923-1985),
Italian novelist, authored “Invisible Cities.” Nominally a series of
tales that Marco Polo tells Kublai Khan, it is actually a collection
of layered, labyrinthine meditations on cities, memory, desire and
language.
   (Econ, 12/8/12, IL p.12)(Econ., 8/22/20, p.70)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Alex Comfort (1920-2000),
British author, published his "Joy of Sex." The book sold 12 million
copies worldwide.
   (SFC, 3/28/00, p.E1)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Timothy Crouse authored
“The Boys on the Bus,” an account of the press pack covering the
1972 presidential campaigns of Richard Nixon and George McGovern.
   (WSJ, 12/1/07,
p.W10)(www.mediabistro.com/articles/cache/a3133.asp)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Thomas M. Disch authored
his science fiction novel "334," on events following the passage of
the Revised Genetic Testing Act of 2011.
   (WSJ, 1/1/00, p.R8)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Janet Flanner (1892-1978),
American writer, authored "Paris Was Yesterday." She served as the
Paris correspondent of The New Yorker magazine from 1925 until she
retired in 1975.
   (SFC, 6/16/96,
T-5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Flanner)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â George V. Higgins (d.1999
at 59) published "The Friends of Eddie Coyle." It was made into a
1973 film with Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle.
   (SFEC, 11/7/99, p.C10)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Vance Packard (1914-1996)
wrote "A Nation of Strangers," a critique of the decline of the
American family and loss of community ties.
   (SFC, 12/13/96, p.B6)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Ismael Reed (b.1938),
African-American writer, authored "Mumbo Jumbo."
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_Reed)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Eudora Welty (1909-2001),
Mississippi based writer, authored "The Optimist’s Daughter." In
1973 it won her a Pulitzer Prize.
   (SSFC, 3/29/09, p.G5)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Yasunari Kawabata
(b.1899), a 1968 Nobel laureate in literature, committed suicide
without explanation.
   (SFEC, 1/25/98, Z1 p.2)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Elizabeth Bowen
(b.1899), Irish-British novelist and short story writer, died. Her
books included “A Time in Rome” (1959).
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Bowen)(WSJ, 6/14/08, p.W10)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Pearl Sydenstricker
Buck (b.1892), author, died in Vermont. Her books included “The Good
Earth” (1931), for which she won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Literature.
In 2010 Hilary Spurling authored “Pearl Buck in China: Journey to
the Good Earth.”
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_S._Buck)(Econ, 4/10/10, p.85)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, Noel Coward (73),
English playwright, died. He was called "The Master" and his work
included "The Vortex," "Hay Fever," "Private Lives," "Brief
Encounter" and "Blithe Spirit." "Noel Coward: A Biography" by Philip
Hoare was published in 1996. Another biography, "A Talent to Amuse"
by Sheridan Morley, published in 1974, was recommended. In 1970 he
was given knighthood.
   (WSJ, 8/15/96, p.A10)(SFEC, 8/25/96, BR p.9)(SS,
3/26/02)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 9, John Creasey
(b.1908), British mystery writer, died. He authored at least 600
mystery novels under 28 pseudonyms. His novel Gideon’s Day was
turned into the film “Gideon of Scotland Yard” (1959).
   (WSJ, 1/31/09,
p.W8)(www.kirjasto.sci.fi/creasey.htm)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, Conrad Aiken
(b.1889), American Pulitzer winning poet and novelist, died.
   (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/caiken.htm)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, John R. R. Tolkien,
British story writer, died of ulcer at 81. His work included "The
Hobbit" and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. In 2007 his son
Christopher Tolkien edited “The Children of Hurin,” compiled from
notes and material left by his father.
   (WSJ, 7/15/96, p.B1)(Econ, 4/21/07, p.94)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 28, Alexander
Solzhenitsyn published "Gulag Archipelago" in Paris. It was an
expose of the Soviet prison system.
   (AP, 12/28/97)(WSJ, 12/11/98, p.W15)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Ernest Becker authored
"The Denial of Death." It reflected a cultural belief that the
denial of death in the US was a pathology responsible for Western
woes from materialism to militarism.
   (SSFC, 12/8/02, p.M2)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Daniel Bell (1919-2011)
authored “The Coming of Post-Industrial Society.”
   (Econ, 2/5/11, p.80)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Shaun Herron (1912-1989),
Ireland-born author, authored “The Whore-Mother,” a novel about the
Troubles in Northern Ireland.
   (WSJ, 10/28/06,
p.P12)(www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/herron_s.shtml)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Dr. Mary C. Raugust Howell
(1932-1998) contributed to the women’s medical guide: "Our Bodies,
Ourselves." The book arose out of a 35-cent, 136-page booklet called
Women and Their Bodies, published in 1970 by the New England Free
Press, and written by 12 Boston feminist activists.
   (SFC, 2/6/98,
p.A23)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Bodies,_Ourselves)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Erica Jong (b.1942),
American author, published her novel "Fear of Flying."
   (WSJ, 8/31/98,
p.A17)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erica_Jong)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Primo Levi (1920-1987)
authored "The Periodic Table," a memoir that incorporated many of
his experiences at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
   (SSFC, 5/26/02, p.M1)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â James Michener
(1907-1997), American author, published "A Michener Miscellany."
   (SFC,10/17/97,
p.A12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Michener)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Jean Pasqualini
(1926-1997) authored "Prisoner of Mao" with journalist Rudolph
Chelminski. He told of his 7 years in China as a political prisoner
in a labor camp. He was born in Beijing to a Corsican father and
Chinese mother, Mr. Pasqualini was educated in French and British
schools in Tianjin and Shanghai. His Chinese name was Bao Ruowang.
   (SFC, 10/14/97, p.A19)(http://tinyurl.com/4oc5vw)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Thomas Pynchon (b.1937),
American author, published his 760-page novel "Gravity’s Rainbow."
   (SFEC, 8/6/00, DB
p.39)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Patrick White (1912-1990),
British-born Australian, won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
   (AP,
10/8/09)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_White)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Jacqueline Susann
(b.1918), author, died of cancer. Her books included "Valley of the
Dolls" (1966). In 1987 Barbara Seaman authored Susann's biography:
"Lovely Me." In 2000 the film "Isn't She Great" starred Bette Midler
as Susann.
   (SFC, 1/26/00,
p.B1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Susann)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Eve Babitz (1943-2021)
authored her first book, “Eve’s Hollywood,” a memoir in shard-like
essays.
   (NY Times, 12/20/21)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Woodward and Bernstein
wrote "All the President's Men." A film based on the book was made
in 1976. In 2003 Woodward and Bernstein sold their Watergate
research papers to the Univ. of Texas for $5 million.
   (SFC, 12/30/99, p.E3)(WSJ, 4/18/03, p.W13)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert A. Caro authored
"The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York."
   (WSJ, 5/1/02, p.D7)(SSFC, 5/5/02, p.M2)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Cleveland Amory authored
"Man Kind," a seminal book on his work with animals.
   (SFC, 10/16/98, p.D4)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Augusto Roa Bastos
(1917-2005), Paraguay writer, authored “Yo, el Supremo” (I, the
Supreme).
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_Roa_Bastos)(Econ, 8/2/14,
p.27)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Doubleday published the
1st edition of "Jaws" by Peter Benchley (1940-2006). In 1975 Steven
Spielberg turned it into a movie.
  Â
(http://www3.isrl.uiuc.edu/~unsworth/courses/bestsellers/search.cgi?title=Jaws)(SFC,
2/13/06, p.B3)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Raoul Berger (d.2000 at
99), constitutional scholar, authored "Executive Privilege," which
helped undermine Nixon's claims for executive privilege. Executive
privilege 1st gained recognition with a 1974 Supreme Court ruling
that endorsed a president's right to keep internal office
communications private.
   (SFC, 9/27/00, p.A25)(SFC, 1/30/02, p.A10)
1974 Â Â Â Â Â Â Michael R. Best and Frank
H. Brightman edited "The Book of secrets of Albertus Magnus," which
contained a recipe for Greek Fire.
   (AM, May/Jun 97 p.10)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Heinrich Boll authored
“The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum.”
   (Econ, 6/9/07, p.97)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Steward Brand published
"II Cybernetic Frontiers."
   (Wired, 5/97, p.101)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Britannica under editor
Warren Preece (d.2007) published its 15th edition (Britannica 3),
which featured three parts: the Propaedia, the Micropaedia, and the
Macropaedia.
   (SFC, 4/17/07, p.D7)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Leo Buscaglia (d.1998 at
74), published his book "The Way of the Bull."
   (SFC, 6/13/98, p.A21)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Eleanor Cameron
(1912-1996) received the National Book Award for "The Court of the
Stone Children." She wrote 17 books for children and one novel, "The
Unheard Music," and 2 collections of criticism on children's
literature.
   (SFEC, 10/13/96, p.B6)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â British novelist John le
Carre authored his cold war thriller “Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy.”
In 1979 it was adopted by the BBC for television.
   (Econ, 9/17/11,
p.92)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinker,_Tailor,_Soldier,_Spy)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Victor Fuchs of Stanford
authored “Who Shall Live,” an examination of the American health
care system.
   (Econ, 7/17/04, Survey p.9)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Emily Hahn (1905-1997)
wrote: "Once Upon a Pedestal: An Informal History of Women's Lib."
   (SFC, 2/19/96, p.A20)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Prof. Charles M. Hardin
(1908-1997) wrote "Presidential Power and Accountability."
   (SFC, 7/4/97, p.E2)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Eyvind Johnson and Harry
Martinson of Sweden shared the Nobel Prize in Literature.
   (AP, 10/8/09)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Ken Kesey began a literary
journal titled "Spit in the Ocean." 6 of 7 issues were published by
1981.
   (SSFC, 11/30/03, p.E7)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Stephen Koch authored
“Stargazer,” a study of Andy Warhol as a filmmaker.
   (SFC, 9/20/06, p.E5)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Peter Maas (d.2001 at 72)
published his book "King of the Gypsies." It highlighted the
Tene-Bimbo Gypsy clan in New York City.
   (SFC,11/6/97, p.A21)(SFC, 8/24/01, p.D7)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Anica Vesel Mander
(d.2002), Yugoslavian-born prof. of Women's Studies, authored
"Feminism as Therapy."
   (SFC, 6/22/02, p.A18)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â James Michener published
"Centennial."
   (SFC,10/17/97, p.A12)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert Nozick (d.2002 at
63), Harvard philosopher, authored "Anarchy, State and Utopia" in
which he attacked forms of paternalistic government.
   (SFC, 1/25/02, p.A32)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â John Paterson (d.2002), UC
Berkeley professor, authored "The Novel as Faith: The Gospel
According to James, Hardy, Conrad, Joyce, Lawrence and Virginia
Woolf."
   (SFC, 4/19/02, p.A27)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Dr. John Weir Perry
(d.1998 at 84), psychiatrist, published "The Far Side of Madness."
He believed that psychotic states could lead to a higher state of
consciousness.
   (SFC, 11/3/98, p.C2)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert Pirsig published
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." "The real cycle you're
working on is a cycle called yourself."
   (SFEC, 1/3/99, BR p.4)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Jeraldine Saunders, cruise
ship director, authored “Love Boats.” This sparked the 1977 TV show
“The Love Boat.”
   (SSFC, 8/7/05,
p.C5)(www.tvland.com/shows/loveboat/main.jhtml)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Patricia Nell Warren
published the groundbreaking gay novel "The Front Runner." It was
about a gay track coach who falls in love with his star runner.
   (SFC, 1/7/98, p.E3)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â The book "Palinuro of
Mexico" by Fernando del Paso (b.1935) won the Premio de Mexico in
manuscript form but was not published in Mexico until 1980. The 1st
edition was published in Spain in 1977.
  Â
(www.complete-review.com/reviews/pasofd/palinuro.htm)(SFEC, 10/6/96,
BR p.4)
1974Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert Stone (1937-2015)
authored “Dog Soldiers.” It won the 1975 National book Award and was
adopted for the film “Who’ll Stop the Rain” (1978).
   (SFC, 1/12/15, p.A6)
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, Pelham Graham (PG)
Wodehouse (b.1881), English, US writer (Piccadilly Jim), died at age
93. 58 Penguin editions of his books were done by artist Jos
Armitage (d.1998 at 84), who also contributed to "Punch." In 2004
Robert McCrum authored “Wodehouse.”
   (SFC, 2/7/98, p.21)(SFC, 11/19/04, p.W16)
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â May 5, Michael Shaara won
Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his novel “Killer Angels.”
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_Pulitzer_Prize)
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, Rod Serling
(b.1924), writer and director of the TV series "Twilight Zone" and
"Night Gallery," died. He was remembered in the 1995 PBS production
titled: "Submitted for Your Approval."
   (WSJ, 11/27/95,
p.A-14)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Serling)
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, James Benjamin
Blish (b.1921), sci-fi author (Star Trek Reader, Black Sunday),
died. Blish also wrote criticism of science fiction using the
pen-name William Atheling Jr.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Blish)
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 5, Lionel Trilling
(b.1905), American author and literary critic, died. His books
included “Beyond Culture” (1965), a collection of essays concerning
modern literary and cultural attitudes toward selfhood.
   (SFC, 10/25/96,
p.A24)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Trilling)
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 7, Thornton Wilder
(b.1897), American novelist and playwright, died. In 2008 his
selected letters, edited by Robin G. Wilder and Jackson R. Bryer,
were published.
   (HN, 4/17/99)(WSJ, 10/4/08, p.W8)
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Ernest Callenbach
(1929-2012) published his novel "Ecotopia." It was based on strict
bioregional and green city principles set in the US Pacific
Northwest.
   (PacDis, Spring/'94, p. 30)(SFC, 4/30/12, p.C3)
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Thomas Harris authored
“Black Sunday,” a novel set around a terrorist conspiracy targeting
the Super Bowl.
   (WSJ, 10/28/06, p.P12)
1975Â Â Â Â Â Â Paul Theroux (b.1941)
authored “The Great Railway Bazaar,” an account of his 1973 train
travels through Europe and Asia. In 2008 he authored “Ghost Train to
the Eastern Star,” a follow up to his 1973 itinerary.
   (SFC, 8/6/08, p.E2)
1976Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Dame Agatha
Christie (b.1890) (Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan),Â
English mystery writer, died in Wallingford, England. She also wrote
romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but is remembered for her
66 mystery novels. Her work with mystery novels, particularly
featuring detectives Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, have given her
the title the “Queen of Crime” and made her one of the most
important and innovative writers in the development of the mystery
novel. Two of her most famous novels might be Murder on the Orient
Express (1934) and Death on the Nile (1937).
          Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_Christie)(SFC,12/26/97,
p.C22)(AP, 1/12/98)
1976Â Â Â Â Â Â May 24, The SF Chronicle
published the 1st installment of "Tales of the City" by Armistead
Maupin (b.1944). The series continued in the Chronicle until 1983
and was serialized in the Examiner in 1986.
   (SFC, 5/1/01, p.A1)(SSFC, 5/8/11, p.A13)
1976Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Dalton Trumbo
(b.1905), US novelist and screenwriter, died at age 70. His books
included “Johnny Got His Gun” (1939). He used pseudonyms for a
number of Hollywood screenplays after he was blacklisted as one of
the “Hollywood Ten” by the House Un-American Activities Committee in
1947.
   (www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAtrumbo.htm)
1976Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 25, Raymond Queneau
(b.1903), Parisian surrealist, died. His work included the prewar
novel "Les Enfants du Limon." In 1998 it was translated to English
as "Children of Clay."
   (SFEC, 8/2/98, BR
p.4)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Queneau)
1976Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, Andre Malraux
(b.1901), author (Conquerors) and French Minister of Culture
(1958-1969), died.
   (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/malraux.htm)
1976Â Â Â Â Â Â Paul Bowles (1910-1999),
American-born composer and writer who lived in Tangier, Morocco,
wrote his short story Allal. In 1996 three of Bowles’ stories were
made into a film titled "Halfmoon" by Frieder Schlaich and Irene von
Alberti. Bertolucci had earlier transferred his novel "The
Sheltering Sky" into film. A biography of Bowles by Millicint
Dillon, "You Are Not I: A Portrait of Paul Bowles" was published in
1998.
   (SFC, 6/14/96, p. C3)(SFEC, 4/5/98, BR
p.3)(www.paulbowles.org/bowlesbiography.html)
1976Â Â Â Â Â Â Norman Maclean (1902-1990)
published "A River Runs Through It and Other Stories." It was a
story about fly fishing in Montana. Recorded books put out a
cassette version in 1993 with other stories that included "Logging
and Pimping and ‘Your Pal, Jim’," and "USFS 1919: The Ranger, the
Cook, and a Hole in the Sky."
   (RB,
1993)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Maclean)
1976Â Â Â Â Â Â A German edition of the
diaries of Austrian writer Robert Musil (1880-1942) was published.
In 1999 Philip Payne published an abridged version "Diaries
1899-1942."
   (SFEC, 1/31/99, BR p.9)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, In Argentina
political writer Rodolfo Walsh was murdered one day after writing
the “Open Letter to the Military Junta” on the first anniversary of
the military coup. He had reported on tortures, mass killings, and
thousands of disappearances. In 2011 Alfredo Astiz (59), a former
navy spy known as "the Angel of Death," was convicted in the
kidnapping and disappearing of Rodolfo Walsh.
   (http://americas.irc-online.org/am/3170)(AP,
10/26/11)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Jacques Prevert
(77), French poet (La puil et le beau), died.
   (MC, 4/11/02)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 19, Alex Haley
received a special Pulitzer Prize for his book "Roots."
   (HN, 4/19/99)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, James Jones
(b.1921), US writer (From Here to Eternity), died. His work included
the pre-WW II novel "From Here to Eternity." His daughter later
wrote the novel "A Soldier’s Daughter never Cries," which was made
into a film with Kris Kristofferson as James Jones.
   (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jjones.htm)(SFEC, 7/12/98,
Par p.17)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Vladimir Nabokov,
Russian-born author, died in Switzerland. In 1996 a 3-volume
collection of his prose work was issued by the Library of America.
In 1999 Kurt Johnson and Steven Coates authored "Nabokov's Blues:
The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius."
   (WSJ, 4/22/99, A20)(SFEC, 10/17/99, BR
p.4)(www.kirjasto.sci.fi/nabokov.htm)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, James M. Cain
(b.1892), member of the "hard-boiled" school of crime fiction of the
1930s and 1940s, died in Maryland. Three of his novels, “The Postman
Always Rings Twice” (1934), “Double Indemnity” (1936), and Mildred
Pierce” (1941), were made into classics of the American screen.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M._Cain)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 9, Clarice Lispector
(b.1920), Ukraine-born Brazilian-Jewish writer, died in Brazil. From
1952-1959 she lived in the US. Her books included “The Passion
According to G.H” (1964). In 2009 Benjamin Moser authored “Why This
World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector.”
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarice_Lispector)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â John Cheever (1912-1982),
American writer, authored his novel “Falconer,” which soon became a
best seller.
   (WSJ, 3/7/09, p.W8)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â John Gregory Dunne
(1932-2003) authored his novel "True Confessions." It was about the
Black Dahlia case, a 1947 murder in Los Angeles.
   (SFC, 1/1/04, p.A23)(SFC, 1/2/04, p.D3)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â German writer Gunter Grass
(1927-2015) authored his novel “The Flounder.”
   (Econ., 4/18/15, p.86)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Emile Rogier Heier (d.1997
at 55), Belgian-born foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star, was
released from a Colombian prison. He returned to the US and began
his book "Down in Colombia" (2003). He later wrote "Lester Leaps
In," a biography of the jazz saxophonist Lester Young.
   (SFC, 9/18/97, p.C2)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Iris Murdoch (1919-1999),
Irish born writer and philosopher, authored "The Fire and the Sun:
Why Plato Banished the Artists." In 1994 Murdoch was diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s Disease. In 1998 her husband, John Bayley, published
"Elegy for Iris."
   (WSJ, 2/17/98, p.A20)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â US Navy Rear Adm. Richard
O’Kane (1911-1994) authored “Clear the Bridge: The War Patrols of
the U.S.S. Tang.”
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_O%27Kane)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Carl Sagan (1934-1996)
authored "Dragons of Eden." In 1978 he won a Pulitzer Prize for the
book.
   (SFC, 12/21/96, p.A1)
1978Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, James G. Cozzens
(b.1903), US writer (Guard of Honor, Pulitzer), died. His novels
included “The Last Adam” (1933), “The Just and the Unjust” (1942),
“Guard of Honor” (1948; Pulitzer Prize), “By Love Possessed” (1957),
and “Morning, Noon, and Night” (1968).
  Â
(http://libweb.princeton.edu/libraries/firestone/rbsc/aids/cozzens.html)
1978Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 5, Isaac Bashevis
Singer (1902-1991), Polish-born American author, was named winner of
the Nobel Prize for literature.
   (AP, 10/5/98)
1978Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, Janet Flanner
(b.1892), American writer and journalist, died.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Flanner)
1978Â Â Â Â Â Â New Age seeker and SF Bay
Area self-help pioneer Carol Louise Gawain (1948-2018), aka Shakti
Gawain, authored "Creative Visualization." She became a brand name
in the world of personal growth and consciousness. She went on to
sell 10 million copies of 12 books that sold in 38 languages.
   (SFC, 11/22/18, p.C4)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Allen Tate
(b.1899), poet and exponent of the New Criticism, died in Nashville.
   (WSJ, 8/2/08, p.W9)(http://tinyurl.com/5g27ry)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 1, Janice Holt Giles
(b.1905), American historical novelist, died. Her 13 novels included
"Hannah Fowler" and "The Believers."
   (WSJ, 7/29/99,
p.A24)(www.cumberlandbooks.com/janiceholtgiles.php)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Helen Van Slyke,
English writer, died. She left a manuscript that was completed by
James Elward (1929-1996) titled "Public Smiles, Private Tears" that
became a best-seller. It was about a woman’s rise in the world of
retail fashion.
   (SFC, 9/2/96, p.A20)(http://tinyurl.com/3bzrf3)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, James T. Farrell
(b.1904), author (Young Lonigan), died. In 2004 Robert K. Landers
authored "The Life and Times of James T. Farrell."
   (SFC, 2/26/04, p.E1)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Harmony Books published
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams. In the book
the British writer described the Babel fish, a live fish placed in
the ear that translates any form of language. “Deep Thought”
was the name of a computer in the book.
  Â
(www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=133)(SFC, 4/29/98,
p.E1)(Econ, 4/28/12, p.60)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â William Peter Blatty
(1928-2017) authored “The Exorcist”. It was turned into a film of
the same name two years later.
   (SFC, 1/14/17, p.A5)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Arthur C. Clarke authored
his science fiction novel “The Fountains of Paradise” about the
construction of a space elevator.
   (Econ, 6/10/06, Survey p.4)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Freeman Dyson,
British-born theoretical physicist, authored his memoir “Disturbing
the Universe.”
   (Econ, 3/30/13, p.82)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â English writer Penelope
Fitzgerald (1916-2000) won the Booker Prize for her novel
"Offshore."
   (WSJ, 4/8/97,
p.A20)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penelope_Fitzgerald)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Douglas Hofstadter
(b.1945) authored his book "Godel, Escher, Bach." In 1980 he won the
Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction.
   (WSJ, 7/15/99, p.A16)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Lyall Watson (1939-2008),
South Africa-born scientist and author, proposed the hundredth
monkey theory in his book: Lifetide: A Biology of the Unconscious.”
   (SFC, 7/22/08,
p.B5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundredth_Monkey)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Penelope Mortimer
(1918-1999) won the Whitbread Prize for her memoir "About Time." The
2nd part of her autobiography was published in 1993.
   (http://facstaff.unca.edu/moseley/whitbread.html)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Marge Piercy authored her
science fiction novel "Woman on the Edge of Time," on travel to the
year 2137.
   (WSJ, 1/1/00, p.R8)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â V.A. Pritchett
(1900-1997), English writer, published his collection of short
stories "On the Edge of the Cliff."
   (SFC, 3/22/97, p.A21)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â William Styron authored
"Sophie’s Choice." In 1996 he gave composer Nicholas maw permission
to turn it into an opera. The opera premiered Dec 7, 2002 at the
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
   (SFC, 12/11/02, p.D5)
1979-1981Â Â Â James Lees-Milne (1908-1997), English
biographer, kept diaries during this period that were published in
2001 as "Deep Romantic Chasm: Diaries 1979-1981."
   (SSFC, 8/12/01, DB p.63)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Roland Barthes
(b.1915), French philosopher and writer, died. His books included
“Mythologies” (1957), a collection of his essays.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Barthes)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, Jean-Paul Sartre
(b.1905), Existentialist philosopher, novelist and dramatist, died
in Paris. His work included "Being and Time" (1927) and "Nausea"
(1938). He won the 1964 Nobel Prize for literature and his work
included "Being and Nothingness." Philosophical replies to this work
were written by Claude Levi-Strauss: "The Raw and the Cooked," a
book that popularized structuralism in France, and by Michael
Foucault: "Words and Things," ("The Order of Things" in the American
edition). "If you're lonely while you’re alone, you’re in bad
company." In 2000 Bernard-Henri Levy authored "Sartre: The
Philosopher of the Twentieth Century." In 2015 Thomas R. Flynn
authored “Sartre: A Philosophical Biography.”
   (SFEC, 4/19/98, BR p.8)(SFEC, 6/21/98, Z1
p.8)(AP, 4/15/99)(Econ, 8/30/03, p.60)(Econ., 2/21/15, p.82)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, American Book Award
went to William Styron for "Sophie's Choice" and T. Wolfe for "Right
Stuff."
   (http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id99.htm)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 7, Henry Miller (born
1891), writer, died in California at age 88. His books included
“Tropic of Cancer.”
  Â
(www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3118)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Charles Percy Snow
(b.1905), British writer (Friends & Associates), died.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._P._Snow)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, Romain Gary, born
as Roman Kacew, (aka Romain Gary, Émile Ajar, Fosco Sinibaldi,
Shatan Boga) died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Paris. Gary
was born in 1914 in Vilnius, Lithuania, to Jewish parents. He was
one of France's most popular and prolific writers, authoring more
than 30 novels, essays and memoirs, some of which he wrote under a
pseudonym. He also wrote the screenplay for the motion picture "The
Longest Day" and co-wrote and directed the film "Kill!" (1971),
which starred his wife at the time, Jean Seberg (d.1979).
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romain_Gary)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, Czeslaw Milosz of
UC Berkeley, a Polish-born American, received the Nobel Prize in
literature from King Carl Gustaf in Sweden.
   (SFC, 12/9/05, p.F2)(AP, 10/8/09)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Italian philosopher
Umberto Eco authored "The Name of the Rose," and established a new
genre of learned who-dunit novels.
   (WSJ, 6/1/01, p.W12)(SSFC, 10/20/02, p.M1)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, William S.
Burroughs Jr. (b.1947), writer, died. He bore the name of both his
father, a Beat writer, and his great grandfather, the original
inventor of the Burroughs adding machine. His 2 novels included
“Speed” and “Kentucky Ham.” In 2006 David Ohle edited and compiled
“Cursed From Birth: The short Unhappy Life of William S. Burroughs
Jr.”
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Burroughs,_Jr.)(SSFC,
12/24/06, p.M3)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, Washington Post
reporter Janet Cooke received a Pulitzer Prize for her feature about
an 8-year-old heroin addict named "Jimmy."; Cooke relinquished the
prize two days later, admitting she had fabricated the story.
   (AP, 4/13/00)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, Nelson Algren (72),
US writer (Man with the Golden Arm), died.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Algren)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â May 18, William Saroyan
(b.1908), American writer, died in Fresno, Ca. He wrote some 60
books that included: "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze"
(1934), "The Human Comedy," which became a 1943 film, and the 1939
play "The Time of Your Life." In 2002 John Leggett authored "A
Daring Young Man: A Biography of William Saroyan."
   {Writer, USA, California, Biography}
   (SFC, 5/23/96, p.A1)(HN, 8/31/00)(SFC, 4/1/02,
p.A11)(SSFC, 11/10/02, p.M1)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 1, Malcolm De Chazal
(b.1902), Mauritian writer and painter, died. His “Sens-Plastique”
consisted of several thousand aphorisms and pensées. “The sun is
pure communism everywhere except in cities, where it's private
property.”
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_de_Chazal)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 25, Ariel
Durant (83), US author, died. She was co-author and collaborator on
several of her husband’s (Will Durant: 1885-1981) works. They
received the Pulitzer Prize for the eleven volume series: “The Story
of Civilization” (1935-1975). Born Chaya, which means "life" (Ida in
English) Kaufman on May 10, 1898 in Proskurov (now Khmelnitski)
Russia to Jewish parents, she immigrated with her mother, three
sisters and older brother to the US, landing in New York in November
of 1901. She married Will in 1913 when she was 15 and he was 28, and
preceded him in death by a matter of days.
   (www.willdurant.com/ariel.htm)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â Daniel Halevi Bloom,
American-Jewish author, invented the characters Bubbie and Zadie,
Yiddish for grandma and grandpa, as an alternative to Santa Claus.
In 1985 he wrote “Bubbie and Zadie Come to My House” and invited
Jewish children to respond with letters.
   (SFC, 12/22/06, p.A1)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â Elias Canetti (1905-1994),
Bulgarian-born British novelist and essayist, won the Nobel Prize in
Literature. His ancestors were Sephardic Jews who had been expelled
from Spain in 1492.
   (AP,
10/8/09)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias_Canetti)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â Lynne Cheney, wife of Dick
Cheney, authored a racy historical romance titled "Sisters." Plans
to reissue the novel in 2004 were cancelled.
   (SFC, 4/3/04, p.A2)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â Martin Cruz Smith
introduced Russian police investigator Arkady Renko in his
best-selling novel “Gorky Park.”
   (WSJ, 11/19/04, p.W16)
1981Â Â Â Â Â Â Anne Tolstoi Wallach
(1929-2018) authored "Women's Work," her debut novel that brought an
advance of $850,000 from the New American Library publishing house.
   (SSFC, 7/1/18, p.C10)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Edith Ngaio Marsh
(b.1895), New Zealand detective writer, producer, died.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngaio_Marsh)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Philip K. Dick
(53), science fiction writer, died. His work included dozens of
novels and over 100 short stories. His novel "Valis" (Vast Active
Living Intelligence System) was an autobiographical work. In 1989
Lawrence Sutin wrote the biography: "Divine Invasions: A Life of
Philip K. Dick." The 1982 film Blade Runner was loosely based on his
novel: "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." The 2003 film
"Paycheck" was based on his 1953 same name novel. In 2004 Emmanuel
Carrere authored “I Am Alive and You Are Dead: A Journey Into the
Mind of Philip K. Dick.
   (WSJ, 4/27/99, p.A20)(SFC, 6/25/02, p.D1)(SFC,
12/27/03, p.D1)(Econ, 4/17/04, p.83)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, Georges Perec
(b.1932), French novelist born as George Peretz, died of lung cancer
in Ivry-sur-Seine. He was also a filmmaker, documentalist, and
essayist. Many of his works deal with absence, loss, and identity,
often through word play. Perec urged other authors to describe the
streets and objects around them.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Perec)(Econ., 5/9/20, p.68)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, Ayn Rand (b.1905),
author and founder of the Objectivist philosophy, died in NY. Her
novels included "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead." In 1987
Barbara Branden wrote the biography titled "The Passion of Ayn
Rand." In 1999 Nathaniel Branden published "My Years With Ayn Rand,"
an account of his 18-year relationship with Rand. In 1999 the US
Postal Service issued a 33 cent stamp in her honor. In 2009 Anne
Heller authored “Ayn Rand and the World She Made,” and Jennifer
Burns authored “Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American
Right.”
  Â
(http://tinyurl.com/2nl7hk)(http://tinyurl.com/3a34t9)(SFEC,
8/18/96, PM p. 2)(SFC, 10/25/98, p.D8)(Econ, 10/24/09, p.95)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, Peter Weiss
(b.1916), German playwright (Marat-Sade), died.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Weiss)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, John Cheever
(b.1912), American Pulitzer Prize winning writer, died. His work
included "the Wapshot Chronicle" and "the World of Apples." In 2009
Blake Bailey authored “Cheever: A Life.”
   (BS, 5/3/98,
p.13E)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cheever)(WSJ, 3/7/09, p.W8)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, Frederic Dannay
(b.1905), US detective writer, died. He collaborated with Manfred
Lee under the joint pseudonym Ellery Queen.
   (www.imdb.com/name/nm0200366/)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, John C. Gardner
(b.1933), US, writer (Life & Times of Chaucer High), was killed
in a motorcycle accident. In 2004 Barry Silesky authored "John
Gardner: Literary Outlaw."
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gardner)(WSJ,
2/13/04, p.W8)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â William Gibson authored
“Neuromancer,” a science fiction short story in which he
coined the term cyberspace.
   (Econ, 7/12/14, SR p.3)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â British writer Sue
Townsend (1946-2014) authored "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged
13 ¾". It sold 20 million copies worldwide. She continued the series
through the 1990s and 2000s, following Mole as he became a father,
ran a book shop and overcame prostate cancer.
   (AP, 4/11/14)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Tennessee
Williams, US playwright born as Thomas Lanier Williams (1911), died
in NYC. He left a $10 million estate to support his sister and
directed that anything left go to support aspiring writers at the
Univ. of the South of Sewanee. His plays included “Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof” and “The Rose Tattoo” originally titled "The Eclipse of May
29, 1919." In 1995 Lyle Leverich (d.1999 at 79) published "Tom: The
Unknown Tennessee Williams," a definitive work on the playwright's
formative years. In 2007 editor Margaret Bradham Thornton published
“Notebooks: Tennessee Williams.”
   (http://tinyurl.com/s8zm5)(SFC, 12/25/99,
p.B4)(SSFC, 5/13/07, p.M6)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Tennessee Williams
(71), playwright, was found dead in his NYC hotel suite.
   (AP, 2/25/08)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Arthur Koestler
(b.1905), Hungary-born British writer (Dialogue With Death), died in
a double suicide with his wife in London. His novels included
"Darkness at Noon" (1940). In 1998 David Cesarani authored "Arthur
Koestler: The Homeless Mind." In 2009 Michael Scammell authored
“Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century
Skeptic.”
   (SSFC, 1/3/10, Books
p.F3)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Koestler)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Rebecca West (born
in 1892 as Cicily Fairfield), British writer, died. Her books
included "The Return of the Soldier" (1918) and "Black Lamb and Grey
Falcon," which was written following a trip through Yugoslavia. She
had a relationship with H.G. Wells that led to the birth of a son,
Anthony. In 1996 Carl Rollyson wrote her biography: "Rebecca West: A
Life." Her pen name came from a character in Ibsen’s play
"Rosmersholm." In 2000 the "Selected Letters of Rebecca West" was
edited by Bonnie Kime Scott. In 2003 Bernard Schweitzer edited and
introduced her work "Survivors in Mexico."
   (WSJ, 3/6/00, p.A28)(SSFC, 6/8/03,
p.M3)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_West)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 18, Alice Walker
(b.1944) won a Pulitzer Prize for "The Color Purple."
   (SSFC, 9/26/04, p.M1)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, Eric Hoffer
(b.1898), longshoreman-philosopher, died in SF. His writings
included "The True Believer" (1951), a critical view of mass
movements, "The Passionate State of Mind," "The Ordeal of Change,"
and "The Temper of the Time."
   (SFC, 1/22/00,
p.A15)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, William Goyen
(b.1915), Texas-born novelist and playwright, died in Los Angeles.
His 1st novel was “House of Breath” (1950).
  Â
(www.tsha.utexas.edu)(www.inthe80s.com/deaths/died1983.shtml)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 13, Mary Renault
(b.1905), English and South African writer, died in South Africa.
She is best known for her historical novels set in ancient Greece.
"In hatred as in love, we grow like the thing we brood upon. What we
loathe, we graft into our very soul."Â
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Renault)(https://tinyurl.com/yb8nxlux)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â "Sisters In Affliction:
Circumcision and Infibulation of Women in Africa" by Raquiya H.
Abdalla was published.
   (NH, 8/96, p.65)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Edward Albee wrote his
play "The Man Who Had Three Arms."
   (SFEC, 7/27/97, DB p.33)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Charles Allen wrote "A
Mountain in Tibet."
   (NH, 5/96, p.68)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Daniel Boorstin, American
historian, published "The Discoverers." [see 1975-1987]
   (WSJ, 3/29/96, p.A-9)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Marion Zimmer Bradley
(d.1999 at 69) published "The Mists of Avalon," a woman's
perspective of the King Arthur legend.
   (SFC, 9/29/99, p.C2)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â John le Carre authored
“The Little Drummer Girl,” a novel set amidst the conflict between
the Palestinians and Israelis.
   (WSJ, 10/28/06, p.P12)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Amy Clampitt (1920-1994),
American poet, published “The Kingfisher."
   (WSJ, 11/7/97, p.A17)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â "The Return of Martin
Guerre" by Natalie Zemon Davis was published. It was a historical
account of a true story from 16th cent. France.
   (WSJ, 7/17/96, p.A12)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Frederick Vanderbilt Field
(d.2000 at 94) published his autobiography: "From Right to Left."
   (SFC, 2/12/00, p.A21)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Derek Freeman published
"Margaret Mead in Samoa," in which he laid waste Mead's portrayal of
1920s Samoan society.
   (WSJ, 3/3/99, p.A17)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â William Golding
(1911-1993), English author, received the Nobel Prize for
literature.
   (WSJ, 10/5/95, p.A-12)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Jane Goodall published "In
the Shadow of Man."
   (SFEC, 12/15/96, zone 1 p.3)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Seymour Hirsch published
"The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House." It won a
National Book Critics Circle award.
   (SFEC,11/9/97, p.A12)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Joyce Johnson authored
"Minor Characters," a memoir of the Beat generation. In 2000 she
authored "Door Wide Open: A Beat Love Affair in Letters, 1957-1958,"
that covered her relationship with Jack Kerouac.
   (SFEC, 6/18/00, BR p.7)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Stanley Karnow published
"Vietnam: A History."
   (SFC, 5/11/99, p.A19)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Prof. William Webster
Lammers of USC (d.1997 at 60) published "Public Policy and Aging."
   (SFC, 10/14/97, p.A19)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â David Landes, Harvard
historian, published "Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of
the Modern World."
   (SFEC, 3/22/98, BR p.8)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â David Mamet, playwright,
wrote "Glengarry Glen Ross."
   (SFEC, 5/30/99, DB p.37)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Rigoberta Menchu,
Guatemalan-born Mayan Indian and human rights activist, authored her
book "I, Rigoberta Menchu." In 1992 she won the Nobel peace Prize.
In 1998 David Stoll, a US anthropologist, authored "Rigoberta Menchu
and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans." He asserted a number of
inaccuracies in Menchu’s original book.
   (SFEC, 1/19/97, Par p.5)(SFC, 12/15/98, p.C20)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â James Michener wrote his
novel "Poland."
   (SFC,10/17/97, p.A17)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Amos Oz, novelist,
published "In the Land of Israel," a collection of essays.
   (SFEC, 10/20/96, BR, p.4)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Maynard Parker, editor of
Newsweek, authorized the publication of the spurious "Hitler
Diaries." The work was identified as "patent and obvious forgeries"
by Charles Hamilton (1914-1996), "philography" expert.
   (WSJ, 8/23/96, p.A1)(SFC, 12/13/96, p.B6)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Donald E. Russell and
Prof. Donald Savage (d.1999 at 81) wrote "Mammalian Paleofaunas of
the World," it was a compendium of mammals through the ages.
   (SFC, 4/14/99, p.C5)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Richard Shevell (d.2000 at
89), aeronautics professor at Stanford, authored the text
"Fundamentals of Flight."
   (SFC, 4/27/00, p.A24)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â The book "I Will Go On
Living" by Japanese writer Chio Uno (1898-1996) was published.
   (SFC, 6/11/96, p.A21)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Lynda Van Devanter (d.2002
at 55) authored "Home Before Morning," the 1st major autobiography
by a woman veteran. It inspired the 1988-1991 TV series "China
Beach."
   (SFC, 11/27/02, p.A26)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Christa Wolf, East German
writer, authored her novel “Cassandra.”
   (WSJ, 3/10/07, p.P6)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â "Quintessence" was
published. It described items whose design was so good that they
could not be improved upon.
   (SFC, 7/3/96, zz-1,p.3)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, Silvia A. Warner,
writer, died.
   (MC, 4/28/02)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â May 16, Irwin Shaw (71),
US writer (Rich Man, Poor Man), died.
   (MC, 5/16/02)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, Carl Foreman (69),
producer, writer (Born Free, High Noon), died of cancer.
   (MC, 6/26/02)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, Lillian Hellman
(b.1905), writer, died in Massachusetts. Her work included the play
"The Little Foxes" (1939), and her memoirs "Scoundrel Time" (1976)
and "Pentimento" (1973). The 1977 film "Julia" was based on a
chapter from Pentimento which described Muriel Gardiner, an American
medical student at the Univ. of Vienna active in anti-Nazi
resistance. In 2005 Deborah Martinson authored “Lillian Hellman: A
Life with Foxes and Scoundrels.” In 2012 Alice Kessler-Harris
authored “A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of
Lillian Hellman.”
   (WSJ, 12/16/98, p.A21)(WSJ, 4/26/99, p.A16)(WSJ,
5/24/99, p.A28)(Econ, 12/17/05, p.82)(Econ, 4/14/12, p.91)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Truman Capote
(59), American novelist, playwright, and short story writer, died in
the arms and guest bedroom of Johnny Carson’s ex-wife, Joanne. His
autobiographical novella, "The Grass Harp," was made into a film
directed by Walter Matthau in 1996. He also authored "Other Voices,
Other Rooms," and "Breakfast At Tiffany’s." In 1997 George Plimpton
published his biography: "Truman Capote." In 2004 Gerald Clarke
edited: “Too Brief a Treat: The Letters of Truman Capote.”
   (SFC, 10/11/96, p.C3)(WSJ, 12/11/97,
p.A21)(SFEC,12/14/97, p.D9)(AP, 8/25/99)(SSFC, 9/19/04, p.M3)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Richard Brautigan
(49), writer, died from self-inflicted gunshot wound in Bolinas, Ca.
His work included "Trout Fishing in America" (1967) and A
Confederate General from Big Sur" (1964). In 1989 Keith Abbott
authored the biography: "Downstream from Trout Fishing in America: A
Memoir of Richard Brautigan." In 1999 Edna Webster published "The
Edna Webster Collection of Undiscovered Writings." In 2004 Greg
Keeler authored “Waltzing with the Captain: Remembering Richard
Brautigan. In 2012 William Hjortsberg authored “Jubilee Hitchhiker:
The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan.”
   (SFC, 10/7/99, p.E1)(SSFC, 8/22/04, p.M3)(SFC,
4/16/12, p.E2)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â British writer Martin Amis
authored "Money." It followed a depraved narcissist called John Self
around the streets of London and New York.
   (Econ., 11/7/20, p.76)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â English writer Anita
Brookner authored “Hotel du Lac.” It won the 1984 Booker Prize.
  Â
(www.volume5.com/dulac/hotel_du_lac_book_review.html)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Julio Cortazar, Argentine
writer, died. His novels included "Final Exam" "Cronopios and
Famas," and "Hopscotch." The English translation of Cronopios by
Paul Blackburn was published in 1962 and reissued in 2000.
   (SFEC, 4/2/00, BR p.8)(SFEC, 8/6/00, BR p.12)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Harriet Doerr (1910-2002)
won the American Book Award for 1st fiction for "Stone for Ibarra."
   (SFC, 11/28/02, p.A30)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Â William Kennedy
received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel "Ironweed".
His novels known as the "Albany Cycle" depict generations of
Irish-American families. In 2018 Kennedy received an award from
Ireland's president for his Albany-based literary works focusing on
the Irish-American experience.
   (AP, 11/20/18)
1984Â Â Â Â Â Â Salim Moussa Achi
(b.1909), aka Dr. Dahesh, Lebanese author and humanist, died. His
art collection later formed the core of the Dahesh Museum of Art in
NYC.
   (WSJ, 9/9/03, p.D6)(www.humanitiesweb.org)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, Theodore Sturgeon
(b.1918), sci-fi author (Hugo, It, Caviar), died.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Sturgeon)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, Robert Nathan
(91), US writer, poet (Portrait of Jennie), died.
   (SC, 5/25/02)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Italo Calvino
(b.1923), Italian writer, died. A collection of his essays was soon
published titled "The Literature Machine."Â In 1999 the
original 11 essays and 25 others were published under the title:
"Why Read the Classics," translated by Martin McLaughlin. In 2003
McLaughlin published “Hermit in Paris: Autobiographical Writings By
Italo Calvino.”
   (SFEC, 10/24/99, BR p.5)(SSFC, 4/6/03, p.M4)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 1, E. B. White (Elwyn
Brooks White, b.1899), writer, author of “Charlotte's Web” and “The
Elements of Style,” died in Maine.
   (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/ebwhite.htm)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 25, Elsa Morante
(b.1912), Italian writer, died. Her books included “House of Liars”
(1948). In 2008 Lily Tuck authored the biography “Woman of Rome: A
Life of Elsa Morante.”
   (WSJ, 9/27/08, p.W11)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 7, Robert Graves,
British author, died. He was the author of historical novels that
included "I, Claudius" and "Collected Poems" (1966). His book "The
White Goddess" (1948) purported to prove that the affairs of men
have been controlled since the dawn of civilization by an
all-destroying, all-creating goddess who manifests herself in living
women for the purpose of inspiring poets. A new biography on Graves
was written by Miranda Seymour and titled "Robert Graves: Life on
the Edge."
   {Britain, Writer, Poet, Biography}
   (WSJ, 10/24/95,
p.A-20)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Graves)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Svetlana Alexievich
(b.1948), a Belarusian investigative journalist, authored “The
Unwomanly Face of War.” In 2017 it was published in English.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetlana_Alexievich)(Econ 7/22/17,
p.65)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â Margaret Atwood authored
her novel “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In 2017 it was made into a ten-part
television series.
   (Econ, 4/22/17, p.76)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â Coleman Dowell (b.1925),
fiction writer, died. His work included "Island People" and "Jabez."
   (WSJ, 2/11/03, p.D8)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â Dominick Dunne (1925-2009)
authored “The Two Mrs. Grenvilles,” based on the sensational
Woodward murder case of 1955. It was made into a television movie in
1987, directed by John Erman, and starring Genevieve Allenbury,
Ann-Margaret, Elizabeth Ashley, Claudette Colbert and Stephen
Collins. It proved to be Claudette Colbert's last film.
   (SFC, 8/27/09, p.A9)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â Claude Simon (1913-2005,
French novelist, won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
   (AP,
10/8/09)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Simon)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Christopher
Isherwood, British born author, died of prostate cancer in Santa
Monica, Ca. He was best know for his 1935 semi-autobiographical "The
Berlin Stories," which was the basis for the 1966 musical Cabaret
and made into a 1972 film. His life-partner was painter Don
Bachardy. His "Diaries: Volume II, 1939-1960" were published in
1997. In 2005 Peter Parker authored “Isherwood: A Life Revealed.”
   (www.booksfactory.com/writers/isherwood.htm)(SFC,
1/16/97, p.E3)(SFC, 5/11/99, p.B6)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Frank Patrick
Herbert (b.1920), sci-fi author (Dune, 1965), died of cancer in
Wisconsin.
   {Writer, USA}
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Bernard Malamud
(b.1914), writer, died. His work included "Talking Horse: Bernard
Malamud on Life and Work," edited by Alan Cheuse and Nicholas
Delbanco (1997). In 2006 his daughter authored “My Father Is a Book:
A Memoir of Bernard Malamud.” In 2007 Philip Davis authored “Bernard
Malamud: A Writer’s Life.”
  Â
(www.nagasaki-gaigo.ac.jp/ishikawa/amlit/m/malamud21.htm)(SSFC,
3/19/06, p.M3)(WSJ, 1/15/08, p.D5)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, Manly Wade Wellman
(b.1903), sci-fi author (Devil's Planet), died.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manly_Wade_Wellman)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, Simone de Beauvoir
(b.1908), French feminist author, died in Paris. Her books included
“The Second Sex” (1949). In 2008 her Wartime Diary was published in
English.
   (AP, 4/14/02)(SFC, 12/23/08, p.E3)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, Jean Genet (75),
French playwright (Lesson Negres), was found dead in Paris.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Genet)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 17, Pulitzer prize
awarded to Larry McMurtry for "Lonesome Dove."
   (http://tinyurl.com/s7rzf)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, Institute for War
documents published Anne Frank's complete diary.
   (MC, 5/14/02)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, Theodore H. White
(71), US journalist (Making of Pres, Pulitzer), died.
   (MC, 5/15/02)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, Jorge Luis Borges
(b.1899), Argentine author (Book of Sand), died in Geneva. In 1998 a
new English translation by Andrew Hurley of his "Collected Fictions"
was published. In 1999 Alexander Coleman edited "Selected Poems."
Also in 1999 Eliot Weinberger edited "Selected Non-Fictions." In
2004 Edwin Williamson authored “Borges: A Life.”
   (SFEC, 12/13/98, BR p.1)(SFEC, 4/18/99, BR
p.3)(WSJ, 8/17/99, p.A18)(WSJ, 8/5/04, p.D8)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Judith C. Brown authored
"Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy," a
fact-based story on Benedetta Carlini. In 2021 Paul Verhoeven
directed "Benedetta." a film based on Brown's book.
   (SFC, 12/3/21, p.D2)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â German writer Gunter Grass
(1927-2015) authored his novel “The Rat.”
   (Econ., 4/18/15, p.86)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Mark Mathabane authored
"Kaffir Boy," an account of the poverty, violence and racism under
apartheid. In 2000 his sister, Miriam Mathabane authored "Miriam’s
Song: A Memoir." The award-winning book was later frequently banned
in US schools due to two paragraphs describing child prostitution.
   (SFEC, 7/9/00, BR p.7)(SFC, 4/12/07, p.A1)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Vladimir Voynovich
(b.1932), Russian dissident writer, wrote his satirical dystopian
novel "Moscow 2042."
   (WSJ, 7/15/97,
p.A18)(http://wapedia.mobi/en/Moscow_2042)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Friends of the
poet Boris Pasternak and of Russian culture agreed that the 1958
resolution expelling Pasternak from the Writers' Union had to be
rescinded. People met and voted in the same ornate conference room
where, thirty years earlier, the great poet had been cast out of the
union.
   (www.thenation.com/archive/search.mhtml)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Erskine Caldwell
(83), novelist (Tobacco Road), died.
  Â
(www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-497)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Primo Levi
(b.1920), Italian chemist, Auschwitz survivor and writer, died in
Italy. In 2002 Carole Angier authored: "Primo Levi: A Biography."
His books included the 1947 memoir "If This Is a Man" and "The
Periodic Table." In 2002 Carole Angier authored the biography "The
Double Bond."
   (SSFC, 5/26/02, p.M1)(WSJ, 6/14/02,
p.W10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primo_Levi)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Winners of the
1987 Pulitzer Prizes included August Wilson's "Fences" for drama and
Peter Taylor's "A Summons to Memphis" for fiction.
   (AP, 4/16/97)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Cleveland Amory authored
"The Cat Who Came for Christmas," a national best-seller about his
cat Polar Bear.
   (SFC, 10/16/98, p.D4)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Molefi K. Asante wrote
his: "The Afrocentric Idea."
   (Civilization, July-Aug, 1995, p. 34)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Ravi Batra authored "The
Great Depression of the 1990s."
   (NW, 9/16/02, p.34BB)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Virginia Reade Belmontez
(d.1998 at 68) authored "Mexico Barbarro 1987," a book that exposed
the past of Mexico’s Pres. Salinas and his party’s oppression of the
Mexican people.
   (SFC, 11/7/98, p.C2)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Martin Bernal wrote Vol. 1
of his "Black Athena." Vol. 2 came out in 1991.
   (Civilization, July-Aug, 1995, p. 34)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Allan Bloom, Prof. of
political philosophy at the Univ. of Chicago, published "The Closing
of the American Mind." In 2000 Saul Bellow authored the novel
"Ravelstein" based on the life of Bloom.
   (WSJ, 1/7/98, p.W11)(WSJ, 2/2/00, p.A26)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Stewart Brand wrote "The
Media Lab."
   (SFC, 7/1/97, p.A17)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Dorothy Bryant wrote her
historical novel "The Confessions of Madame Psyche."
   (SFC, 12/13/96, p.C14)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â James Lee Burke published
his 1st Dave Robicheaux detective novel "Neon Rain."
   (SFC, 9/11/00, p.B7)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Lincoln Caplan authored
"The Tenth Justice: The Solicitor General and the Rule of Law."
   (SFC, 10/13/99, p.C2)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â "Southern Food" by John
Egerton was published.
   (SFC, 8/14/96, zz-1 p.1)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Neil Folberg published "In
a Desert Land: Photographs of Israel, Egypt, and Jordan." It focused
on the Sinai Desert and was re-issued in 1998.
   (SFEC, 4/26/98, BR p.6)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Joseph Greenberg (d.2001),
Stanford linguist, authored "Language in the Americas." He assigned
the 650 native languages of North and South America to 3 groups.
   (SFC, 5/15/01, p.C2)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â William Greider wrote
"Secrets of the Temple." It was a comprehensive general account of
how the Federal Reserve operates.
   (WSJ, 1/17/97, p.A11)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Thich Nhat Hanh,
Vietnamese Zen master, published "Being Peace," the first of his 35
books and tapes.
   (SFC, 10/12/97, Z1 p.3)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â David Ignatius authored
his novel “Agents of Innocence.” It became a classic in the
espionage genre.
   (WSJ, 4/7/07, p.P10)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Kim Jong Il, son of North
Korean leader Kim Il Sung, authored the treatise: “Theory of
Cinematic Art.”
   (www.korea-dpr.com/library/209.pdf)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â "Modern Geology Vol. II"
by Andrew Kitchener was published.
   (NH, 8/96, p.58)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Patricia Limerick
published "The Legacy of Conquest." She realigned standard history
to account for minorities and women in the unbroken settlement of
the US West.
   (SFEC, 1/2/00, BR p.12)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â "Moon Tiger," a novel by
Penelope Lively won the Booker Prize.
   (WSJ, 9/20/96, p.A12)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Malachi Martin (d.1999 at
78), an Irish-born former Jesuit, published "The Jesuits."
   (SFC, 7/30/99, p.D8)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â The "Food of Southern
Italy" by chef Carlo Middione won the Tastemaker Award in the
International Cookbook category.
   (SFEM, 7/21/96, p.16)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Toni Morrison wrote her
novel "Song of Solomon."
   (SFEC, 12/15/96, DB p.61)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â In Japan Haruki Murakami
authored "Norwegian Wood." The novel experimented with reality. An
English translation was made in 1997. By 2010 the love story sold
more than 10 million copies in Japan and 2.6 million abroad in 36
languages. The film "Norwegian Wood," by Vietnamese-French director
Tran Anh Hung, opened in Japan in December, 2010.
   (SFC, 1/1/01, p.B7)(AP, 11/26/10)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â V.S, Naipaul (b.1932),
Trinidad-born English novelist, authored "The Enigma of Arrival."
   (SFC, 10/12/01, p.C1)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â M.I.T. Press published "A
Few Good Men from Univac." It was a history of the computer.
   (WSJ, 11/22/96, p.A12)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Caryl Phillips wrote "The
European Tribe," his "impressionistic tour of a continent with a
long history of persecuting Jews and ignoring blacks."
   (WSJ, 5/21/97, p.A12)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Richard Preston wrote
"First Light," a book on the romantic era of astronomy. A new
edition was published in 1996.
   (SFEC, 1/5/97, BR p.7)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Barbara Raskin (d.1999 at
63) published her novel "Hot Flashes."
   (SFC, 7/27/99, p.A17)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Richester Register,
student of Paolo Soleri, published his "Ecocity Berkeley: Building
Cities for a Healthy Future."
   (PacDis, Spring/'94, p. 29)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Leni Riefenstahl
(1902-2003), German director, published her autobiography: "Leni
Riefenstahl: A Memoir."
   (SFC, 1/19/99, p.B5)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â George Seldes, former
Berlin correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, wrote his
autobiography: "Witness to a Century."
   (SFEC, 7/27/97, p.T5)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Randy Shilts, a San
Francisco-based writer, authored "The Band Played On," in which he
chronicled the early days of AIDS. Shilts had learned in 1985 that
he had AIDS, but only made it public in 1993.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the_Band_Played_On)(SSFC, 2/11/18,
DB p.50)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â George Soros, businessman,
published "The Alchemy of Finance." It offered his ideas on a wide
range of subjects including his own success. The Quantum Fund is one
of Mr. Soros’ investment vehicles.
   (WSJ, 2/27/95, p.A-10)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Larry R. Squire authored
“Memory and Brain.” It became a classic in the biology of memory.
   (WSJ, 4/7/07, p.P10)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Choreographer Paul Taylor
published his autobiography "Public Domain."
   (WSJ, 4/12/99, p.A21)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Walter Weintz (1915-1996)
wrote his memoir "The Solid Gold Mailbox." He had been a pioneer of
direct mail advertising and used a Persian poet’s lines to sell the
Reader’s Digest: "If thou hast two pennies, spend one for bread."
Weintz sent out 100 million pennies in pairs and advertised that the
1st be kept for luck and the 2nd be used as a down payment to
Reader’s Digest.
   (SFC, 12/25/96, p.A22)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Chancellor Williams
published his work: "The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great
Issues of Race from 4500 BC to 2000 AD." He also wrote "The Re-Birth
of African Civilization," an account of his 1953-1957 research
project on the nature of education in Europe and Africa.
   (Civilization, July-Aug, 1995, p. 34)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â "The Truly Disadvantaged"
by William Julius Wilson first discussed the "mismatch thesis,"
which points to the problem of unskilled inner-city workers trapped
in poverty and unqualified and unable to reach jobs in the hi-tech
urban environment. The problem continued to be discussed in his 1996
book: "When Work Disappears."
   (WSJ, 9/3/96, p.A12)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â William Wilson (d.1999 at
51) authored "An Incomplete Education," designed to fill in
knowledge lacked by college graduates.
   (SFC, 11/3/99, p.C6)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Tom Wolfe published his
first novel "Bonfire of the Vanities" in book form, a complete
re-write after it was serialized in Rolling Stone Magazine. The
title referred to an event on Feb 7, 1497, when followers of the
priest Girolamo Savonarola collected and publicly burned thousands
of objects in Florence, Italy. Wolfe’s book was a story of
Reagan-era avarice.
   (WSJ, 10/30/98,
p.W1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_of_the_Vanities)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Arthur Miller wrote his
play "I Can’t Remember Anything." He also authored in this year his
autobiography "Timebends."
   (WSJ, 1/14/98, p.A17)(Econ, 11/1/03, p.82)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, The novel
"Beloved" by Toni Morrison was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for
fiction, while the Charlotte (N.C) Observer won the prize for public
service for its coverage of the Praise The Lord scandal.
   (AP, 3/31/98)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 12, Alan Stewart Paton
(b.1903), South African writer (Cry The Beloved Country), died. He
founded and served as president of the Liberal Party (1953-68).
   (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/apaton.htm)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, Science fiction
author Robert A. Heinlein died in Carmel, Calif., at age 80. His
books included “Starship Troopers” (1958) and “The Moon Is a Harsh
Mistress,” (1966).
   (AP, 5/8/98)(WSJ, 1/26/07, p.D7)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, Raymond Carver
(b.1938), American poet, short story writer (Furious Season), died.
His books included “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”
(1981). In 2009 Carol Sklenicka authored “Raymond Carver: A Writer’s
Life.”
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Carver)(SSFC, 11/22/09, Books
p.F1)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Max Shulman (69),
author (Dobie Gillis, Tender Trap), died.
   (MC, 8/24/02)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, Egyptian novelist
Naguib Mahfouz was named recipient of the Nobel Prize for
Literature.
   (AP, 10/13/98)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Bruce Chatwin
(b.1940), British travel writer, died of AIDS in France. His books
included "In Patagonia" (1984) "Songlines," "The Viceroy of Ouidah,"
and "On the Black Hill." In 1997 a collection of incidental writing
was published: "Anatomy of Restlessness."
   (SFEC, 8/10/97, BR
p.3)(http://myweb.lsbu.ac.uk/stafflag/brucechatwin.html)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Thomas Bernhard
(b.1931), Austrian novelist and playwright, died. He hated petty and
conservative Austrian qualities and was known as a teller of
difficult truths. His 1963 novel “Frost” was published in the US in
2006.
   (SSFC, 10/22/06,
p.M4)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bernhard)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, Iran dropped
diplomatic relations with Britain over Salmon Rushdie's book.
   (MC, 3/7/02)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 19, Daphne Du Maurier
(b.1907), English writer, died. Her books included “Jamaica Inn”
(1936) and “Rebecca” (1938).
   (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/dumaurie.htm)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Isidore Feinstein
Stone (b.1907), author (I.F. Stone's Weekly), died in Boston. In
2006 Myra MacPherson authored “All Governments Lie,” a biography of
Stone. In 2009 D.D. Guttenplan authored “American Radical: The Life
and Times of I.F. Stone.”
   (http://tinyurl.com/nm97z)(WSJ, 9/30/06,
p.P8)(Econ, 5/16/09, p.90)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Donald Barthelme
(b.1931), US writer, died. His work included over a hundred short
stories and 4 novels. In 2009 Tracy Daugherty authored “Hiding Man:
A Biography of Donald Barthelme.”
   (WSJ, 2/21/09,
p.W8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Barthelme)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Irving Stone, US
writer born as Irving Tennenbaum (Love is Eternal, Lust for Life),
died in Los Angeles.
   (http://www.britannica.com)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Georges Simenon
(86), Belgian/French writer and director (Maigret), died. The
Belgian born writer, authored some 200 novels. Many featured the
crime-busting hero Inspector Maigret.
   (SFC, 6/9/00, p.D5)(MC, 9/4/01)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Martin Amis authored his
novel “London Fields,” a black comedy about lust and low-lifes that
fizzed with a rare energy.
   (Econ, 6/30/12, p.85)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â British writer Ken
Follett's 1,000-page historical novel "The Pillars of the Earth"
sold tens of millions of copies and spent 18 weeks atop The New York
Times best sellers' list. Its story about the construction of a
12th-century cathedral in a fictional English town traced the same
era as that in which Notre-Dame assumed its majestic place in Paris.
In 2010 it was turned into a TV miniseries.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pillars_of_the_Earth)(AFP,
4/16/19)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Joseph Garber (1943-2005)
authored his novel “Rascal Money.” It was initially intended as a
nonfiction work titled “In Search of Shabiness,” a response to the
Tom Peters book “In Search of Excellence.”
   (SSFC, 6/5/05, p.A21)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Oscar Hijuelos (1951-2013)
published his novel "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love." It was
made into a movie in 1992.
   (SFC, 2/22/99, p.E5)(SFC, 10/15/12, p.C3)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â John Updike (1932-2009),
American writer, authored his memoir “Self-Consciousness.”
   (SSFC, 4/13/14, p.F3)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Bruno Bettelheim
(86), Austrian-US psychoanalyst, committed suicide. His books
included "The Empty Fortress" (1967), on infantile autism and "the
Use of Enchantment" (1976), a study of fairy tales. In 1996 Richard
Pollak wrote: "The Creation of Dr. B: A Biography of Bruno
Bettelheim." In 2002 Theron Raines authored "Rising to the Light: A
Portrait of Bruno Bettelheim."
   (SFC, 12/29/96, BR p.1)(SSFC, 9/8/02, p.M4)(MC,
3/13/02)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, Walker Percy
(b.1916), Mississippi-raised physician, novelist (Lancelot), died of
cancer in Covington, Louisiana. His book "The Moviegoer" was the
1962 winner of the National Book Award." His last book, The Thanatos
Syndrome, appeared in 1987.
  Â
(www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/percy_walker/)(WSJ,
3/26/03, p.D8)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 27, Salman Rushdie,
condemned to death by Iran, contributed $8600 to help their
earthquake victims.
   (SC, 6/27/02)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, Norman Maclean
(b.1902), writer and professor of English, died in Chicago. His
books included "A River Runs Through It and Other Stories" (1976).
   (RB,
1993)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Maclean)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Sergei Dovlatov
(b.1941), one of the most popular Russian writers of the late 20th
century, died in NYC. Dovlatov had circulated his writings through
samizdat and by having them smuggled into Western Europe for
publication in foreign journals; an activity that caused his
expulsion from the Union of Soviet Journalists in 1976. He emigrated
to American in 1979. His books included “The Invisible Book” (1977).
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Dovlatov)(Econ, 10/22/16, SR
p.14)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Edmund G. Love
(b.1912), Michigan-based writer, died in Flint. His book ''Subways
Are for Sleeping'' (1957) was the basis for the Broadway musical
(1961).
   (LSA, Spring, 2009,
p.34)(http://tinyurl.com/c6rqnh)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, Lawrence Durrell
(b.1912), expatriate British writer, died in France. His most famous
work is the tetralogy The Alexandria Quartet (1957-1960). In 2012
Joanna Hodgkin authored “Amateurs in Eden: The Story of a Bohemian
Marriage, Nancy and Lawrence Durrell.”
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Durrell)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, Roald Dahl
(b.1916), British short story author (Sweet Mystery of Life), died.
Dahl became widely know for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and
“James and Giant Peach.” From 1953 to 1983 he was married to actress
Patricia Neal (1926-2010). In 2010 Donald Sturrock authored
“Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl.”
   (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rdahl.htm)(SFC, 8/9/10,
p.A6)(SSFC, 10/3/10, p.F4)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 4, Eric Larrabee (68),
magazine editor, author, arts administrator, teacher and champion of
the arts, died at his home in Manhattan. His books included
“Commander in Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants, and
Their War” (1987).
   (WSJ, 1/12/08, p.W9)(http://tinyurl.com/2j2tkr)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, Friedrich
Durrenmatt (b.1921), Swiss author and playwright, died. In 2006 the
Univ. of Chicago published a translation of his selected writings in
3 volumes. "What was once thought can never be unthought."
   (AP,
11/15/00)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_D%C3%BCrrenmatt)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â John Guare wrote his play
"Six Degrees of Separation."
   (SFEC, 5/30/99, DB p.37)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â The book "The Plains of
Passion" by Jean Auel (b.1936) was the best-selling fiction work of
the year.
   (WSJ, 5/24/99,
p.R4)(www.geocities.com/auelpage/auel.html)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert Bly published "Iron
John," an examination of male cultural passage through myth.
   (USAT, 6/28/96, p.6D)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Ron Chernow wrote "The
House of Morgan, " a biography of the banker.
   (WSJ, 8/8/97, p.A11)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Kenneth C. Davis published
"Don't Know Much About History."
   (SFEC, 1/10/99, BR p.9)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Wayne Dynes edited "An
Encyclopedia of Homosexuality."
   (SFC, 2/27/98, p.A3)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Bret Easton Ellis (26)
authored his novel "American Psycho." It was about a wall street
trader who moonlights as a serial killer. In 2000 the film version
made its premier.
   (SFC, 4/12/00, p.E1)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Sir Vivian Fuchs published
his autobiography "A Time to Speak." Fuchs had led an expedition
across Antarctica in 1958.
   (SFC, 11/13/99, p.A22)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â William Gibson and Bruce
Sterling authored a novel called “The Difference Engine.” It
described an alternative Victorian era of mechanical computers
driven by steam.
   (Econ, 3/3/12, TQp.7)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Col. David H. Hackworth
(1931-2005), Vietnam war veteran, authored “About Face: The Odyssey
of an American Warrior.”  Â
   (SFC, 5/7/05, p.B5)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Charles Johnson wrote his
novel "Middle Passage," which won a National Book Award.
   (SFEC, 4/19/98, BR p.1)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Charles Kuralt (1934-1997)
wrote "A Life on the Road" and it became a No.1 nonfiction
bestseller.
   (SFC, 7/5/97, p.A5)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Peter Matthiessen
published his novel "Killing Mr. Watson." It became the first of a
trilogy about a Florida homesteader, who murdered some 5 dozen
people over his lifetime.
   (SFEC,12/797, p.B11)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â James Michener wrote his
novel "Pilgrimage" and "The Eagle and the Raven."
   (SFC,10/17/97, p.A17)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Richard Milner,
anthropologist, authored "Encyclopedia of Evolution." Milner later
developed the one-man musical show: "Darwin: Live & in Concert."
   (WSJ, 5/8/02, p.AD9)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Ray Monk wrote his
biography of "Ludwig Wittgenstein."
   (WSJ, 9/27/96, p.A16)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Roger Morris wrote the
biography: "Richard Milhaus Nixon."
   (SFEC, 2/23/97, BR p.3)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Hallie Crawford Stillwell
(d. 1997 at 99), a Big Bend Texas pioneer, wrote her autobiography.
A sequel was to be completed by her great niece.
   (SFC, 8/21/97, p.C4)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Adam Kufeld published "El
Salvador." He had made 8 trips to the country as a photographer
between 1985-1989.
   (SFEM,11/16/97, p.28)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â James P. Womack and Daniel
T. Jones wrote "The Machine That Changed the World, a study of
Toyota Motor Corp.’s manufacturing methods."
   (WSJ, 11/1/96, p.A11)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â "The Romance of the Three
Kingdoms," a 16th century fictional account of the wars of the three
rival kingdoms in China, was published in paperback.
   (NH, 7/96, p.58)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Julia Phillips (d.2001 at
57), movie producer, authored ""You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town
Again," an insider chronicle of Hollywood’s top echelons.
   (SFC, 1/3/02, p.A16)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Thomas Pynchon (b.1937)
wrote his novel "Vineland."
   (SFEC, 4/27/97, BR
p.1)(www.pynchon.pomona.edu/bio/facts.html)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â John O’Brien (d.1994)
published his novel "Leaving Las Vegas." It was made into a 1995
film and was the semi-autobiographical account about an alcoholic
who goes to Las Vegas to drink himself to death.
   (SFC, 8/20/98, p.B4)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Ronald Reagan published
his memoir “An American Life.”
   (SSFC, 6/6/04, A18)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Chiyo Uno (1897-1996) was
awarded a title by the emperor and named a "person of cultural
merit." Her best know book was "Ohan" (1957).
   (SFC, 6/11/96,
p.A21)(http://asian-literature.suite101.com/article.cfm/uno_chiyo)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â George Will, political
columnist, authored "Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball." He told of
how the game was played through extended portraits of manager Tony
La Russa, pitcher Orel Hershiser, hitter Tony Gwynn and fielder Cal
Ripken Jr.
   (WSJ, 5/21/03, p.D10)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Edward O. Wilson (b.1929)
published his Pulitzer prize book: "The Ants," written with Bert
Holldobler.
   (WSJ, 3/30/98, p.A16)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, English novelist
Graham Greene died at age 86. His wife, Vivien Dayrell-Browning,
died in 2003 at age 98. Greene had told his wife that he had had 32
other women. His books included “The Quiet American” (1955). In his
so-called “Catholic” novels he challenged the idea that God is a
cruel, unstinting Rules Keeper. In 2004 Norman Sherry completed “The
Life of Graham Greene, Vol. III, 1955-1991.”
   (AP, 4/3/01)(SFC, 8/25/03, p.B4)(SFC, 10/2/04,
p.E2)(WSJ, 10/6/04, p.D14)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, Max Frisch
(d.1991), Swiss architect and writer, died. His books included “I’m
Not Stiller” (1958), a look at the nature of identity.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Frisch)(WSJ,
4/25/09, p.W8)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, Kitty Kelly
published a book knocking Nancy Reagan.
   (MC, 4/5/02)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, The 1991 Pulitzer
Prize for fiction was awarded to John Updike for "Rabbit at Rest";
the drama prize went to Neil Simon for "Lost in Yonkers." In
journalism, The Des Moines Register received the gold medal for
public service for its series about rape victim Nancy Ziegenmeyer,
who’d allowed her name and pictures to be used.
   (AP, 4/9/01)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â May 3, Jersy Kosinski
(57), author (Being There), committed suicide.
   (MC, 5/3/02)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 10, Vercors (b.1902)
[Jean Bruller], French writer (Silence of Mer), died.
   (http://440.com/twtd/archives/feb26.html)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, A Japanese
professor who had translated Salman Rushdie’s "The Satanic Verses"
was found stabbed to death, nine days after the novel’s Italian
translator was attacked in Milan.
   (AP, 7/12/01)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Jung Chang (b.1952)
authored her family portrait “Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China,”
which soon became an international best seller.
   (Econ, 2/21/09,
p.85)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Swans)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â The novel "Scarlet" by
Alexander Ripley (d.2004) was the best-selling hardcover book of the
year (2.1 mil copies). It was an official sequel to "Gone With the
Wind."
   (WSJ, 5/24/99, p.R6)(SFC, 1/26/04, p.B4)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Jane Smiley authored ""A
Thousand Acres," an audacious retelling of "King Lear" featuring an
Iowan farmer and his three daughters.
   (Econ., 11/21/20, p.77)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Angela Carter
(b.1940), English writer, died. Her collected writings "Shaking A
Leg" was published in 1999 by Penguin. This was the 3rd of a series
that included "Nothing Sacred" and "Expletives Deleted." In 2016
Edmond Gordon authored “The Invention of Angela Carter: A
Biography.”
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Carter)(SFEC, 2/14/99, BR
p.5)(Econ, 11/12/16, p.76)
1992      Apr 6,  Â
Isaac Asimov (72), science-fiction author, died in New York. He had
authored 467 books.
   (AP, 4/6/97)(SFEC, 3/15/98, p.D1)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 7, The Sacramento Bee,
The New York Times and Newsday won two Pulitzer prizes each;
playwright Robert Schenkkan was honored for "The Kentucky Cycle,"
novelist Jane Smiley for "A Thousand Acres" (1991).
   (AP, 4/7/97)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, Wallace Stegner
(b.1909), novelist (Pulitzer 1972), died in New Mexico.
  Â
(http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/librarylocations/main/envir/wsbio.htm)
1992      Aug 29, Mary Norton
(88), children’s book author (Borrowers), died in England.
   (www.sfsite.com/09b/bor41.htm)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, Richard Yates
(b.1926), US author, died in Birmingham, Ala. His books included
"Revolutionary Road" (1961), and "Disturbing the Peace" (1975). In
2003 Blake Bailey authored "Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of
Richard Yates."
   (WSJ, 7/3/03,
p.D8)(www.pshares.org/issues/article.cfm?prmarticleID=3460)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel
Prize (1988) winning Egyptian author, published his novel "Sugar
Street." It was the most political and last book of his “Cairo
Trilogy.”
   (WSJ, 9/1/07, p.P9)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert James Waller
(1939-2017) authored the romance novel “The Bridges of Madison
County.” The book turned Madison County, Iowa, into a tourist
attraction. It was produced as a movie in 1995 with Meryl Streep and
Clint Eastwood and grossed $182 million worldwide.
   (SSFC, 3/12/17, p.A11)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, Hans Werner
Richter (b.1908), German writer, founder (Gruppe 47), died.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Werner_Richter)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, Pulitzer Prizes
were awarded to David McCullough for his biography "Truman," to
Robert Olen Butler for his collection of short stories "A Good Scent
from a Strange Mountain" and to Tony Kushner for his drama "Angels
in America: Millennium Approaches." The gold medal for public
service went to The Miami Herald for its Hurricane Andrew coverage.
   (AP, 4/13/98)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, Leslie Charteris
(85), British mystery writer (Saint), died.
   (www.nndb.com/people/820/000104508/)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, Penelope Gilliatt
[Conner], British author, died.
   (www.britannica.com/eb/article-9104302)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â May 18, Pamela M.
Cunnington (67), English architect, writer, died.
   (SC, 5/18/02)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 19, Sir William
Golding (b.9/19/1911), English Nobel Prize-winning author (1983),
died at his home in Cornwall, England, at age 81. His novel “Lord of
the Flies” was published in 1954. other novels included “Pincher
Martin” (1956) and “The Inheritors” (1955). In 2009 John Carey
authored “William Golding: The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies.”
   (AP,
6/19/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_G._Golding)(Econ,
9/5/09, p.93)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 20, James Leo Herlihy
(b.1927), gay author (Midnight Cowboy), committed suicide in Los
Angeles.
   (www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/findaids/herlihy.htm)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, Samuel Morris
Steward (b.1909), also known by the pen name Phil Andros, died. He
was a novelist and tattoo artist later based in Oakland, California.
In 2010 Justin Spring authored “Secret Historian: The Life and Times
of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade.”
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Andros)(SSFC,
8/22/10, p.F1)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â William Gibson authored
his essay “Disneyland with the Death Penalty” in which he depicted
the Lion City as a soulless, consumerist and authoritarian
wasteland.
   (Econ, 3/12/15, p.77)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Toni Morrison (b.1931,
American novelist, won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her novels are
known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed
black characters. Among her best known novels are “The Bluest Eye,”
“Song of Solomon,” and “Beloved,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for
Fiction in 1988.
   (AP,
10/8/09)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Morrison)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Amin Maalouf (b.1949),
Lebanese writer, won France’s Prix Goncourt for his novel “The Rock
of Tanios.”
   (Econ, 7/5/08, p.91)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Randy Shilts
(b.1951), San Francisco-based author and journalist, died of AIDS in
Guerneville, Ca. His books included "And the Band Played On:
Politics, People and AIDS Epidemic" (1987).
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Shilts)(SSFC, 2/17/19, p.46)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Absurdist
playwright Eugene Ionesco died in Paris at age 81.
   (AP, 3/28/99)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 12, Playwright Edward
Albee won his third Pulitzer prize for "Three Tall Women"; the
Pulitzer prize for fiction went to E. Annie Proulx for "The Shipping
News"; the gold-medal award for public service journalism went to
the Akron Beacon-Journal of Ohio.
   (AP, 4/12/99)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Ralph Ellison
(b.1914), author of "Invisible Man" (1952), died in NYC of
pancreatic cancer at age 80. His unfinished novel "Juneteenth" was
published in 1999. His books also included "Living With Music." In
2002 Lawrence Jackson authored "Ralph Ellison: Emergence of Genius."
In 2007 Arnold Rampersad authored “Ralph Ellison.”
   (AP, 4/16/99)(WSJ, 6/18/99, p.W13)(WSJ, 6/14/02,
p.W11)(SFC, 5/14/07, p.C2)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Shepherd Mead
(80), author (How to Succeed at Business), died of stroke In London,
England.
   (MC, 8/15/02)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, James Clavell
(b.1924), Australian-born author and director (King Rat, Shogun),
died in Switzerland.
   (www.imdb.com/name/nm0165412/)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, Nobel
Prize-winning writer Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) was stabbed several
times in the neck by a 21-year-old assailant on a Cairo street.
Muslim militants were blamed in the attack. The wound resulted in
the paralysis of his writing hand.
   (WSJ, 2/20/98, p.A16)(AP, 10/14/04)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, Julian Symons
(b.1912)), British detective writer (Death's Darkest Face), died.
  Â
(http://neptune.spaceports.com/~queen/Whodunit__writers.html)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, Guy Debord
(b.1931), French political theorist and filmmaker, died. His books
included “Society of the Spectacle” (1967).
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Debord)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â John Berendt published
"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," his personal impressions
on the city of Savannah, Ga., which became a best-seller.
   (SFEC, 3/23/97, p.T8)(SFEC, 3/15/98, p.T11)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Louis de Bernieres
authored "Corelli’s Mandolin." It sold 2.5 million copies and won
the Granta Prize. In 2001 it was made into a film titled "Captain
Corelli’s Mandolin" with Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz.
   (WSJ, 10/28/98, p.A20)(SFC, 8/17/01, p.C3)(SSFC,
8/15/04, p.M1)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Harold Bloom published
"The Western Canon," a defense of the great books that were under
attack due to the current "political correctness."
   (WSJ, 10/23/98, p.W8)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Caleb Carr authored his
best seller “The Alienist.”
  Â
(www.salon.com/books/int/1997/10/cov_si_04carr.html)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Taslima Nasreen (32),
Bangladeshi writer, authored her novel "Lajja" or "Shame," which
depicts violence against minority Hindus by Muslim fundamentalists
in Bangladesh. Muslims soon called for her execution for that and
other works. Nasreen went into hiding in India after receiving
threats from Islamic groups.
   (AP, 11/28/07)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Harry Wu (1937-2016),
Chinese human rights activist and writer, published his "Bitter
Winds: A Memoir of My Years in China’s Gulags," with Carolyn
Wakeman. Wu Hongda had been sent to a labor camp in 1960 to be
turned into “a new socialist person.” In 1985 he left for
California.
   (SFC, 5/19/96, Z1, p.3)(Econ, 5/7/15, p.86)(Econ,
5/7/15, p.86)
1994-1995Â Â Â Haruki Murakami (b.1949) authored his
3-volume novel “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle,” a surreal 600-page
exploration of fear. An English version was published in 1997. In
2011 a stage version premiered in Edinburgh.
   (Econ, 8/27/11,
p.75)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haruki_Murakami)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Patricia Highsmith
(b.1921), American born novelist, died in Switzerland. Her work
included 22 novels, nine short stories and 8,000 pages of diaries
and notebooks. Her first novel, “Strangers on a Train” (1950) was
made into a 1951 film by Alfred Hitchcock. In 2009 Joan Schenkar
authored “The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious
Art of Patricia Highsmith.” In 2021 Richard Bradford authored her
biography "Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires: The Life of Patricia
Highsmith."
   (SSFC, 12/13/09,
p.E3)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Highsmith)(Econ.,
1/23/21, p.69)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Calder Willingham
(b.1922), novelist, scriptwriter (The Graduate), died of lung cancer
in New Hampshire.
  Â
(www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1244)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, Sidney Kingsley,
US playwright (Pulitzer prize 1934), died.
   (MC, 3/20/02)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 27, Willem Frederik
Hermans (b.1921), Dutch author, died. His 1966 novel “Beyond Sleep”
was considered to be one of the founding works of modern Dutch
literature. In 2007 an English translation became available.
   (WSJ, 1/7/07,
p.P8)(http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Frederik_Hermans)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 3, Jean-Patrick
Manchette (b.1942), French novelist, died. His 11 novels included
the "Three to Kill," (1976).
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Patrick_Manchette)(Econ.,
9/5/20, p.74)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Elleston Trevor,
author, died.
   (MC, 7/21/02)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 22, Sir Kingsley Amis
(73), British novelist and poet, died in London. His 25 novels
included “Lucky Jim” (1954) and “The Green Man” (1969). His work
also included "The King’s English: A Guide to Modern Usage" and 6
volumes of verse. In 1998 Eric Jacobs published the biography
"Kingsley Amis." In 2000 his son, Martin Amis, authored the memoir:
"Experience." In 2007 Zachary Leader authored “The Life of Kingsley
Amis.” In 2007 Zachary Leader authored “The Life of Kingsley Amis.”
   (WSJ, 10/23/95, p.A1)(SFEC, 7/19/98, BR
p.3)(SFEC, 5/28/00, BR p.1)(AP, 10/22/05)(SSFC, 4/22/07,
p.P10)(Econ, 4/21/07, p.96)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 17, This year's
British Booker Prize in literature was awarded to Pat Barker for
"The Ghost Road," the third novel of a trilogy (1991-1995) that work
focused on psychologist W.H.R. Rivers and poet Siegfried Sassoon
(1886-1967) set during WW I.
  Â
(www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth15)(WSJ, 10/15/97,
p.A21)(WSJ, 12/18/95, p.A12)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Monica Furlong (d.2003 at
72), Christian writer and feminist, authored her autobiography:
"Bird of Paradise."
   (SFC, 2/3/03, p.B4)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Nick Hornby (b.1957),
British writer, authored his novel “High Fidelity,” about the
fiercely snobby people who sold music. It adapted into a feature
film in 2000 and a Broadway musical in 2006. In 2003, the novel was
listed on the BBC's survey The Big Read.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Fidelity_%28novel%29)(Econ,
6/6/15, p.76)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Philip Mansel authored
“Constantinople: City of the World’s Desire, 1453-1924.”
   (Econ, 12/19/15, p.66)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â German-Jewish writer
Stefanie Zweig (1932-2014) authored her autobiographical novel
"Nowhere in Africa". The book retold the story of her family's time
in Kenya. A movie adaptation won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language
Film in 2003.
   (AP, 4/27/14)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Daniel Wolf (80),
journalist, died.
   (MC, 4/11/02)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 18, Piet Hein (80),
architect, poet, mathematician, inventor, died.
   (MC, 4/18/02)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 23, Pamela Lyndon
Travers (96), Australia born writer (Mary Poppins), died in London.
  Â
(www.maryborough.qld.gov.au/index.aspx?page=678&mid=1)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â May 27, David Malouf,
Australian writer, won the $151,000 Int'l. IMPAC Dublin Literary
Award for his novel "Remembering Babylon."
   (SFC, 5/27/96, p.B5)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28, Eugenia Price,
American writer, died at age 79. She wrote historical novels for
women and her books were translated into 18 languages. Her "Beauty
for Ashes" made the NYT Best Seller List in 1995.
   (SFC, 5/30/96, p.A16)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Jessica Mitford
(78), author of "The American Way of Death," died. The 1963 book was
an expose of the funeral industry in the US. Her attorney husband,
Robert Treuhaft, died in 2001. In 2001 Mary S. Lovell authored "The
Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family." In 2006 “Decca: The
Letters of Jessica,” edited by Peter Y. Sussman was published. In
2010 Leslie Brody authored “Irrepressible: The Life and Times of
Jessica Mitford.”
   (SFC, 6/30/96, Z1 p.3)(SFC, 11/12/01,
p.A18)(SSFC, 1/6/02, p.M1)(SFC, 11/3/06, p.E9)(SSFC, 11/14/10, p.F7)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Mary Higgins
Clark, suspense writer, signed a 3-book contract with Simon &
Schuster for $3 mil per book.
   (SFC, 8/13/96, p.B2)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 17, The Russian Booker
Prize for literature, inaugurated in 1992, was awarded to Andrei
Sergeyev for his book "Stamp Album."
  Â
(www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/1996/12/17/004.html)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Stephen Ambrose authored
"Undaunted Courage," an account of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
   (WSJ, 8/20/01, p.A8)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â William Gibson’s novel
"Idoru" was published. It was set in about 2036 and envisioned many
abandoned Web sites.
   (WSJ, 3/11/97, p.B1)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â John Grisham published
"The Runaway Jury," the highest selling, fiction hardback of the
year (2.7 mil copies).
   (WSJ, 5/24/99, p.R22)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â "Manual of the Perfect
Latin American Idiot" by Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Carlos Alberto
Montaner (Cuban novelist) and Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza was published
and became a best seller in Latin America.
   (WSJ, 1/3/97, p.A9)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â James McBride authored
“The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother.
   (SFC, 2/13/08, p.E5)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â The memoir "Angela's
Ashes" by Frank McCourt (1931-2009) was elected the number-one
nonfiction book by Time and Newsweek.
   (WSJ, 9/17/99, p.W11)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â James Michener wrote "This
Noble Land: My Vision of America."
   (SFC, 10/17/97, p.A17)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Patrick O’Brian published
his 18th volume of the Aubrey-Maturin series of historical novels of
seafaring voyages and extended naval battles of the Napoleonic wars.
   (SFEC, 10/27/96, BR p.6)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Sapphire (b.1950),
American performance poet born as Ramona Lofton, authored her
best-selling novel “Push.” In 2009 it was released in the US as a
film directed by Lee Daniels.
   (Econ, 11/21/09,
p.87)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precious_%28film%29)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Leo Rosten (88),
writer, humorist (Joys of Yiddish), died.
   (www.nndb.com/people/842/000048698/)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, In Australia it
was revealed that the 1995 award-winning autobiography of an
Aboriginal woman, "My Own Sweet Time,” was actually written by a
47-year-old white man in Sidney named Leon Carmen.
   (SFC, 3/14/97, p.A16)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Robert Pinsky (56)
of Boston Univ. was named poet laureate of the United States by the
Library of Congress.
   (SFC, 3/28/97, p.A7)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5 Allen Ginsberg, the
counterculture guru who shattered conventions as poet laureate of
the Beat Generation, died in New York City at age 70. His last book
of poems "Death and Fame: Last Poems 1993-1997" was edited by Bob
Rosenthal, Peter Hale and Bill Morgan following his death. In 2000
Bill Morgan edited "Deliberate Prose: Selected Essays 1952-1995." In
2001 David Carter edited "Allen Ginsberg: Spontaneous Mind, The
Selected Interviews, 1958-1996."
   (SFEC, 4/6/97, p.A11)(AP, 5/5/97)(WSJ, 4/2/99,
p.W6)(SFEC, 5/9/99, BR p.3)(SFEC, 3/5/00, DB p.4)(SSFC, 4/8/01, BR
p.2)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 7, The Pulitzer Prize
for fiction went to Steven Millhauser for "Martin Dressler: The Tale
of an American Dreamer," but no award was given for drama. The
Times-Picayune of New Orleans won two journalism Pulitzers,
including the public service prize, for a series examining how
overfishing and pollution are devastating the oceans.
   (AP, 4/7/97)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Michael Dorris
(52), writer, committed suicide.
   (MC, 4/11/02)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, Saadallah Wannous,
Syrian playwright, died in Damascus. His plays included "A Night
Party for July 5," "Rituals of Signs and Changes," "The King Is the
King," and "The Rape," an adoption of a Spanish play that was
banned.
   (SFC, 5/19/97, p.A24)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, Kurt Adler (91),
therapist, writer, died.
   (MC, 6/4/02)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, After years of
rejection letters, British author J.K. Rowling finally published the
first volume of the Harry Potter saga. "Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone" was the first of seven novels that spawned an
empire comprising eight movies, a play, theme parks in the United
States and Japan, a sightseeing tour in Scotland and a permanent
exhibition at London's Warner Bros Studios.
   (AFP, 6/25/17)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, William Burroughs
(1914-1997), writer, the godfather of the beat generation, died of a
heart attack at his home in Lawrence, Ka. His work included "Naked
Lunch" (1959), which was originally banned and published in the US
in 1962. He also wrote the books "Junkie" and "Queer."
   (SFC, 8/4/97, p.E5)(AP, 8/2/98)(SFC, 8/31/04,
p.E7)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 28, James Lees-Milne
(b.1908), British biographer, architectural historian and
watercolorist, died. His work included a biography of British
politician Harold Nicolson. In 2001 Milne’s "Deep Romantic Chasm:
Diaries 1979-1981" was published. The final installment of his
diaries, The Milk of Paradise,” was published in 2006. In 2009
Michael Bloch authored “James Lees-Milne: The Life.”
   (SSFC, 8/12/01, DB p.63)(WSJ, 7/1/06, p.P6)(Econ,
11/21/09, p.86)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Kathy Acker (b.1948),
bad-girl writer, died. In 2002 Amy Scholder and Dennis Cooper edited
"Essential Acker: The Selected Writings of Kathy Acker."
   (SSFC, 11/10/02, p.M4)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Elspeth Huxley (b.1907),
English author, died. Her books included "The Flame Trees of Thika."
In 2003 C.S. Nicholls authored "Elspeth Huxley: A Biography."
   (SSFC, 8/10/03, p.M2)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Japanese author Natsuo
Kirino (b.1951) authored her crime novel “Out.” The book’s title
clearly conveys the experience of being on the out-side of social
groups. It became a bestseller.
   (Econ, 3/29/14,
p.24)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natsuo_Kirino)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Jo Nesbo (b.1960),
Norwegian writer, musician, and former economist and reporter,
authored "Flaggermusmannen,", his first Harry Hole crime novel. In
2012 it was translated to English as "The Bat." By 2020 his books
had sold over 45 million copies worldwide.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Nesb%C3%B8)(Econ., 5/23/20, p.72)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Novelist Lawrence
Sanders died at age 78. His debut thriller "The Anderson Tapes"
launched his career, and his 38th book was due later this month.
   (SFC, 2/13/98, p.D8)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Ernst Juenger,
German writer, died at age 102.
   (SFC, 2/18/98, p.A18)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, The Grand Forks
Herald of North Dakota won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of a
flood and fire despite a damaged printing plant. The fiction prize
went to Philip Roth, his first, for "American Pastoral."
   (WSJ, 4/15/98, p.A1)(AP, 4/14/99)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 27, Carlos Castaneda
(72), author, died. His 1968 thesis: "The Teachings of Don Juan: A
Yaqui Way of Knowledge," published by the Univ. of Calif. Press
(1968), became an int’l. best seller. In 1997 his ex-wife Margaret
Runyan Castaneda authored "A Magical Journey With Carlos Castaneda."
In 2000 Richard DeMille authored "Castaneda's Journey: The Power and
the Allegory." In 2003 Amy Wallace, Castaneda's lover in the 1970s,
authored "The Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life With Carlos Castaneda."
   (SFC, 6/19/98, p.A2)(SSFC, 8/24/03, p.E2)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 5, Alfred Kazin
(b.1915), literary critic, died on his birthday. Kazin’s work
included 3 autobiographical volumes: “A Walker in the City,”
“Starting Out in the Thirties,” and “New York Jew.” In 2003
Ted Solotaroff edited "Alfred Kazin's America: Critical and Personal
Writings." In 2007 Richard M. Cook authored “Alfred Kazin: A
Biography.”
   (SSFC, 10/19/03, p.M2)(WSJ, 1/12/08, p.W9)(SFC,
2/7/08, p.E2)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, In Colombia Manuel
Mejia Vallejo, novelist, died at age 75. His work included "It was
Us," "The Marked Day," and "the House of the Two Palms."
   (SFC, 7/24/98, p.D5)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Noel Behn (70),
novelist and screenwriter, died in Manhattan. His work included "The
Kremlin Letter," "The Big Stick-Up at Brink’s," and "The
Shadowboxer."
   (SFC, 8/1/98, p.A19)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Julien Green (97),
the first American to be elected to the Academie Francaise, died in
Paris. The Catholic and homosexual writer produced 18 novels that
included "Moira" and "Each in his Darkness." He also published 14
volumes of journals and 5 volumes of memoirs.
   (SFC, 8/18/98, p.A18)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Elena Garro (b.
1920), Mexican novelist, playwright and former wife of Octavio Paz,
died at age 77. Her foremost novel was "Recuerdos del Porvenir"
(Remembrances of the Future).
   (SFEC, 8/23/98, p.D4)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, William Gaddis,
American writer, died at age 75. His work included "The
Recognitions" (1955) and "A Frolic of His Own." In 2002 his novel
"Agapé Agape" was published along with his essays: "The Rush for
Second Place."
   (WSJ, 12/18/98, p.A1)(SSFC, 10/20/02, p.M2)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Tristan Egolf (1972-2005)
authored “Lord of the Barnyard,” a sprawling story of a farm boy’s
misadventures.
   (SFC, 5/12/05, p.B6)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Martha Gellhorn (b.1908),
writer and the 3rd wife of Ernest Hemingway (1940), died at age 89.
Her work included the 1978 memoir "Travels With Myself and Another."
In 2003 Caroline Moorhead authored "Gellhorn: A Twentieth Century
Life."
   (SSFC, 8/12/01, p.T4)(SSFC, 11/2/03, p.M1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Iris Murdoch
(b.1919), Dublin-born novelist, died. Her husband, John Bayley,
published "Iris: A Memoir of Iris Murdoch" in 1998. It was published
in the US as "Elegy for Iris."
   (SFC, 2/9/99,
p.A20)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_Murdoch)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Alice Munro of
Canada won the National Book Critics Circle award for fiction for
her short-story collection "The Love of a Good Woman." Philip
Gourevitch won the nonfiction award for "We Wish To Inform You That
Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families," a work on the Rwandan
genocide. Sylvia Nassar won the biography award for her work on John
Forbes Nash Jr., Nobel laureate in mathematics. Gary Giddins won the
award for criticism for "Visions of Jazz: The First Century."
   (SFC, 3/9/99, p.C2)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Michel Houellebecq
authored “Les Particules Elementaires” (The Elementary Particles), a
nihilist novel that looked at the current era from the year 2079. In
it 2 half brothers served as emblems of 2 self-destructive
tendencies in modern life: radical individual autonomy and
technological perfection. It created a literary scandal in France
and was denounced as racist, fascist, sexist, and homophobic. An
English translation came out in 2000.
   (WSJ, 11/15/00, p.A24)(Econ, 9/17/05, p.87)(WSJ,
5/27/06, p.P8)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Louis Sachar authored
"Holes," a novel about kids in prison in Texas. It was made into a
film in 2003.
   (SFC, 5/5/03, p.D1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Brian Moore (59),
Irish born writer, died in California. His books included the novel
“Catholics” (1973).
  Â
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/253500.stm)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, In Chile Alejandra
Matus, author, launched her new book "The Black Book of Chilean
Justice." Police confiscated the books the next day and Matus fled
the country to Argentina.
   (SFEC, 5/2/99, p.A26)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, The Pulitzer Prize
in literature went to Michael Cunningham for his novel "The Hours."
   (WSJ, 4/16/99, p.W15)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 19, Mario Soldati
(b.1906), Italian writer and film director, died at age 92. He
started publishing novels in 1929 although his fame came with
“America primo amore” (1935), a diary about the time he spent
teaching at Columbia University. He won literary awards for the
work.
   (SFC, 6/24/99,
p.A25)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Soldati)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Mario Puzo, author
of "The Godfather," died on Long Island at age 78. His last book,
"Omerta," was scheduled for publication in 2000.
   (SFC, 7/3/99, p.A21)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 12, Joseph Heller,
author of "Catch-22," died at age 76 in East Hampton, N.Y. His 1998
memoir was titled "Now and Then: From Coney Island to Here." Other
novels included "God Knows" (1984) and "Closing Time" (1994). His
final work was "Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man." In 2011 Tracy
Dougherty authored “Just One Catch: A Biography of Joseph Heller.”
   (SFC, 12/14/99, p.A10)(WSJ, 6/9/00, p.W9)(SSFC,
8/21/11, p.F1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Breyten Breytenbach,
Afrikaner writer, authored "Dog Heart: A Memoir," a look at South
Africa since the 1994 elections.
   (WSJ, 10/4/99, p.A40)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Nadine Gordimer, South
Africa writer, authored "Living in Hope and History: Notes from Our
Century."
   (SFEC, 12/12/99, BR p.5)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Elizabeth Sparrow authored
“Secret Service: British Agents in France: 1792-1815.”
   (WSJ, 12/9/06, p.P12)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Patrick O'Brian,
(born in England as Richard Patrick Russ), celebrated novelist, died
at age 85 in Ireland while writing his 21st novel set during the
Napoleonic wars. His 1st Aubrey and Maturin novel was "Master and
Commander," begun in 1969 was published in 1970. His first novel was
"The Golden Ocean" written in 1956.
   (SFC, 1/8/00, p.A19)(WSJ, 11/7/03, p.W15)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, In Italy Harold
Bloom’s new book "How To Read and Why" was published. The American
version came out in April. His other 24 books included "The Western
Canon."
   (WSJ, 5/1/00, p.A24)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Prof. Adam B. Ulam
of Harvard Univ., died at age 77. His 18 books included "Stalin: The
Man and His Era" (1973).
   (SFC, 4/1/00, p.A26)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, Ha Jin, Prof. of
English at Emory Univ. won the PEN/Faulkner Prize for His novel
"Waiting." Jin had arrived in the US from China in 1985.
   (SFC, 4/5/00, p.C3)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 10, David M. Kennedy
won a Pulitzer prize for "Freedom From Fear: The American People in
Depression and War, 1929-1945." Jhumpa Lahiri won the fiction award
for "Interpreter of Maladies." The Washington Post won three
Pulitzer Prizes, including the public service award for the second
year in a row; The Wall Street Journal took two honors, and The
Associated Press won for investigative reporting on the killing of
civilians by US troops at the start of the Korean War.
   (SFC, 4/11/00, p.A2)(AP, 4/10/01)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, Giorgio Bassani,
Italian author, died at age 84. His books included "The Garden of
the Finzi-Continis."
   (SFC, 4/14/00, p.D5)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, English writer
Penelope Fitzgerald (b.1916) died. In 2012, The Observer named her
final novel, The Blue Flower (1995), as one of "the ten best
historical novels." In 2013 Hermione Lee authored “Penelope
Fitzgerald: A Life.”
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penelope_Fitzgerald)(Econ, 11/2/13,
p.91)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, In Britain Dame
Barbara Cartland (98), author of 723 romance novels, died.
   (SFC, 5/22/00, p.A14)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Marc Reisner,
author of "Cadillac Desert," died in Marin, Ca., at age 51. His 1986
book was an angry indictment of water depletion in the American
West.
   (SFC, 7/24/00, p.A21)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, William Maxwell
(b.1908) novelist and editor for the New Yorker, died in NYC. In
2008 the Library of America published a 2-volume edition of his
fiction.
   (WSJ, 9/5/08,
p.W6)(www.answers.com/topic/maxwell-william-keepers-jr)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 24, Susan Berman (55),
a Las Vegas mobster’s daughter, was found slain in her home in
Benedict Canyon, California. She had authored "Easy Street" in 1981.
Berman (b.1945), American journalist and author, was a friend of New
York real estate heir Robert Durst. On March 14, 2015, Durst was
arrested in New Orleans and charged with first-degree murder in
connection with Berman's death. In late 2019 Durst acknowledged that
he had written a note directing police to Berman's home.
   (SFC, 1/5/01,
p.A1,14)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Berman)(SFC, 1/1/20,
p.A6)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â JT Leroy authored his 1st
book “Sarah. The narrator, a 12-year-old boy, has renamed himself
Sarah after his whorish mother because he has learned from her
example that "Most anything you want in this world is easier when
you're a pretty girl." In 2005 it was revealed that the author was a
fake identity created by SF residents Laura Albert, her husband
Geoffrey Knoop and Geoffrey’s sister Savannah. In 2006 Knoop
acknowledged that Laura Albert wrote “Sarah,“ and followed up in
2001 with “The heart Is Deceitful Above All Things.”
   (http://tinyurl.com/cqvnn)(SFC, 1/10/06,
p.A8)(SFC, 2/7/06, p.A3)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â The Caine Prize for
African Writing, named in memory of the late Sir Michael Harris
Caine (1927-1999), was first awarded to Leila Aboulela (b.1964) of
Sudan at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair 2000 in Harare. Caine
was a former Chairman of Booker plc., Chairman of Africa 95, and
Chairman of the Booker Prize management committee for almost 25
years.
   (www.caineprize.com/about.php)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Kang Chol-Hwan authored
“The Aquariums of Pyongyang,” one of the first published accounts of
the North Korean gulags.
   (SFC, 4/20/13, p.D1)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Mario Vargos Llosa of Peru
authored his historical novel “The Feast of the Goat.” It explored
the cruel regime of General Trujillo in the Dominican Rep.
   (Econ, 10/16/10, p.44)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Robert Ludlum
(73), suspense novelist, died in Naples, Fla. His books included
"The Scarlatti Inheritance," "The Chancellor Manuscript," the Bourne
trilogy, "The Matlock Paper," "Trevayne" and others.
   (SFC, 3/13/01, p.A25)(AP, 3/12/02)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, The Oregonian of
Portland won two Pulitzer Prizes, including public service for its
examination of widespread abuses by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service. In breaking news reporting, The Miami Herald
won for its coverage of the pre-dawn raid by federal agents who took
custody of Elian Gonzalez; the story also produced the breaking news
photography award for Alan Diaz of The Associated Press. Michael
Chabon won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel "The Amazing Adventures
of Kavalier and Clay"; David Auburn won for his play "Proof."
   (SFC, 4/17/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/17/01, p.A1)(AP,
4/16/02)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â May 11, Douglas Adams
(b.1952), English author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,"
died in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was buried at London’s Highgate
Cemetery.
   (AP, 5/11/02)(AP, 9/29/09)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 27, Tove Jansson
(b.1914), writer and creator of the Moomin family of trolls, died in
Finland. She began her 1st Moomin book in 1939. The Swedish-speaking
Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author
received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1966. In 2014 Tuula
Karjalainen’s “Tove Jansson: Work and Love” became available in
English.
   (SFC, 7/17/01,
p.A15)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tove_Jansson)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Mordecai Richler,
Canadian social critic and novelist, died at age 70. His work
included the novel "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" (1959).
   (SFC, 7/5/01, p.D3)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Eudora Welty
(b.1909), Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, died in Jackson, Miss. Her
work included the 1941 collection "A Curtain of Green and Other
Stories" and the 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning "The Optimist’s
Daughter." In 1998 Ann Waldron authored the biography “Eudora”
against the writer’s wishes. In 2005 Suzanne Marrs authored the
biography “Eudora Welty.”
   (WSJ, 7/24/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/24/01, p.A17)(WSJ,
8/5/05, p.W6)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Poul Anderson,
science fiction writer, died at age 74.
   (WSJ, 8/3/01, p.A1)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Robert Henry
Rimmer, author of the 1960s novel "The Harrad Experiment," died at
age 84.
   (SFC, 8/11/01, p.A17)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Jorge Amado
(b.1912), author of 32 novels, died at age 88. He was considered
Brazil’s greatest contemporary writer.
   (SFC, 8/9/01,
p.D2)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Amado)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Elizabeth Cavanna
Harrison (aka Betsy Allen or Elizabeth Headley), American romance
writer, died in France at age 92. Her over 80 romances included
"Going on Sixteen" (1945), and "Spice Island Mystery" 1970.
   (SFC, 8/14/01, p.A18)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Peter Maas,
novelist and non-fiction writer, died at age 72. His work included
"The Valachi Papers" (1969), "Serpico," "The King of Gypsies," and
"Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano’s Story of Life in the Mafia."
   (SFC, 8/24/01, p.D7)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, Ken Kesey
(b.1935), author, died in Eugene, Oregon. His books included "One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest" (1962) and "Sometimes a Great Notion"
(1964). In 2013 Rick Dodgson authored “It’s All Kind of Magic: The
Young Ken Kesey.”
   (SSFC, 11/11/01, p.A1)(NW, 12/31/01, p.109)(SSFC,
11/10/13, p.F7)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 14, Jonathan Franzan
won the national Book Award in fiction for "The Corrections." Andrew
Solomon, gay psychiatrist, won the non-fiction award for "The
Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression."
   (SFC, 11/15/01, p.A2)(Econ, 12/22/12, p.132)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, W.G. Sebald
(b.1944), German-born British author, died in a car accident. His
books included "The Emigrants" (1996) and "The Rings of Saturn"
(1998). His novel "Austerlitz" (2001) had just recently been awarded
The National Books Critics Award for 2002.
   (SSFC, 12/23/01, p.M4)(SFC, 3/12/02, p.A2)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Jonathan Franzen authored
his novel “The Corrections.” It spent 29 weeks on the New York Times
bestseller list and won the 2001 National Book Award.
   (Econ, 8/28/10, p.72)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Manu Herbstein (b.1936), a
South African resident of Ghana, authored “Ama: A Story of the
Atlantic Slave Trade.”
  Â
(www.nathanielturner.com/amastoryofatlanticslavetrade.htm)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Mario Vargas Llosa,
Peruvian writer, authored “The Feast of the Goat,” a portrayal of
the last days of the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic.
   (WSJ, 9/1/07, p.P9)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Ian McEwan, a British
writer, authored his novel “Atonement.” In 2007 it was made into a
film starring James McAvoy and directed by Joe Wright.
   (SFC, 12/4/07, p.E1)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Carlos Ruiz Zafon authored
“The Shadow of the Wind.” It became a best seller in Spain and in
2004 was translated into English by Lucia Graves.
   (Econ, 4/3/04, p.87)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Dare Wright (b.1914),
author, died. He books included “The Lonely Doll.“ In 2004 Jean
Wright authored “The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll.“
   (SSFC, 9/5/04, p.M1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, In Sweden Astrid
Lindgren (b.1907), author of "Pippi Longstocking" (1945), died in
Stockholm. Her wartime diaries highlighted the shortages and terror
of invasion.
   (SFC, 1/29/02, p.A17)(Econ., 5/23/20, p.71)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, The National Book
Critics Circle (f.1974) awarded top honors to W.G. Sebald (d.2001)
for his novel "Austerlitz." Nicholson Baker won the nonfiction
category for "Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on
Paper."Â Martin Amis won the criticism category for "The War
Against Cliché." Albert Goldbarth won the poetry category for
"Saving Lives." Adam Sisman won the biography category for
"Boswell’s Presumptuous Task: The Making of the Life of Dr.
Johnson."
   (SFC, 3/12/02, p.A2)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, The Pulitzer Prizes
were announced. Arts winners included Louis Menand in history for
"The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America," David
McCullough for his biography "John Adams," and composer Henry Bryant
(88) for "Ice Field."
   (SFC, 4/9/02, p.A2)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, Damon Knight (79),
science fiction writer and editor, died in Eugene. His work included
"The Futurians" (1977), a memoir of a group of budding writers that
included Asimov, Wollheim, Pohl and himself. His 1950 story "To
Serve Man" was made into a Twilight Zone episode in 1962.
   (SFC, 4/19/02, p.A27)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â May 20, Steven Jay Gould
(60), polymath, paleontologist and writer, died of cancer in NYC. He
and Niles Eldredge were proponents of the theory of punctuated
evolution, an update on Darwin’s theory of evolution. His books
included "The Mismeasure of Man" (1988). His book "The Hedgehog, the
Fox and the Magister’s Pox: Mending the Gap Between Science and the
Humanities" was published posthumously in 2003.
   (SFC, 5/21/02, p.A6)(SSFC, 4/13/03, p.M1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28, Mildred Wirt
Benson (96), newspaperwoman and creator of the "Nancy Drew"
children's mystery stories (1930), died in Toledo, Ohio. She wrote
under the direction of Edward Stratemeyer and used the pen name
Carolyn Keene.
   (WSJ, 5/31/02, p.A13)(AP,
5/28/03)(http://tinyurl.com/e39rt)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 11, Quincy Troupe
(62), prof. of creative writing at UC San Diego, was named
California state poet laureate. Troupe resigned Oct 18 after he
acknowledged that he lied in his resume about graduating from
college.
   (SFC, 6/12/02, p.D5)(SSFC, 10/20/02, p.A14)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Chaim Potok (73),
rabbi and author of novels that included "The Chosen," died at his
home in suburban Philadelphia. "Literature presents you with
alternative mappings of the human experience."
   (SFC, 7/24/02, p.A1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, William Pierce
(d.2002), white supremacist author of the 1978 "Turner Diaries,"
died in Hillsboro, West Virginia.
   (WSJ, 7/24/02, p.A1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Winifred Watson
(95), a popular writer of the 1930s who found a new readership in
the 21st century, died in England. His work included the humorous
and risqué novel "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" (1938).
   (AP, 8/14/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 27, Stanley R.
Greenberg (74), writer, died. His work included over 40 plays for
stage, film and TV including the screenplay for the 1973 film
"Soylent Green."
   (SFC, 8/28/02, p.A19)(MoTV, 1977, p.667)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Jerry Boyd
(b.1930), boxing trainer and author (pen name F.X. Toole), died. Two
of his short stories were adopted for the 2004 film “Million Dollar
Baby.”
   (SSFC, 8/6/06,
p.M1)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.X._Toole)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 3, Wu-chi Liu (95),
China-born scholar, died in Menlo Park, Ca. His books included "A
Short History of Confucian Philosophy" and "An Introduction to
Chinese Literature." He was also the senior editor of "Sunflower
Splendor," an anthology that encompassed 3,000 years of Chinese
poetry in translation.
   (SFC, 10/18/02, p.A26)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31/Nov 1, Inmates at
San Quentin performed the verse drama "John Brown’s Body" by Stephen
Vincent Benet under the direction of Joseph De Francesca.
   (SFC, 11/19/02, p.D1)(EW)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, Jerry Sohl (88),
science fiction author, died in Thousand Oaks, California. His books
included "The Transcendent Man" and "The Altered Ego."
   (SFC, 11/11/02, p.A20)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, Harriet Doerr
(b.1910), author of "Stone for Ibarra" (1984), died in Pasadena.
   (SFC, 11/28/02, p.A30)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 21, In Spain Jose
Hierro (80), a poet who won the Spanish-speaking world's highest
literary award while writing in a Madrid coffee shop, died.
   (AP, 12/21/02)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Chinese writer Jiang Benhu
(b.1964), a former member of the intelligence services, authored
“Jiemi” under the pseudonym Mai Jia. In 2014 it was translated
into English under the title “Decoded.”
   (Econ, 3/22/14, p.84)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Michael Crichton authored
"Prey," an novel that portrayed a mayhem of nanotechnology mixed
with biotechnology.
   (WSJ, 11/22/02, p.W10)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Carlos Fuentes published
his novel “La silla del aguila,” in Mexico. In 2006 an English
translation by Kristina Cordero was published as “The Eagle’s
Throne.”
   (SSFC, 5/27/06, p.M1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Caroline Knapp (42),
author of "Drinking: A Love Story" (1996), died. In 2003 her book
"Appetites: Why Women Want," was published.
   (SSFC, 5/18/03, p.M1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Eka Kurniawan (b.1975),
Indonesian novelist, authored “Cantik Itu Luka” (Beauty is a Wound).
An English translation by Anni Tucker was published in 2015.
   (Econ, 1/23/16, p.75)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â "The Sexual Life of
Catherine M.” by Catherine Millet was published in the US following
a successful introduction in France.
   (NW, 5/27/02, p.70)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â David L. Ulin edited
"Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology."
   (SSFC, 10/12/02, p.M1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â China banned the novel "K:
The Art of Love" by Chen Hongying following a lawsuit by a British
woman who said the book insulted her late parents. The book was
based on letters and journals of Julian Bell (d.1937), a nephew of
Virginia Woolf, and his affair with poet named Lin.
   (SFC, 12/13/02, p.K2)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Jose Maria
Gironella (85), Spanish author, died. His work included "The
Cypresses Believe in God," a trilogy based on the 1936-1939 Civil
War, for which he won the 1953 National Literary prize.
   (SFC, 2/10/03, p.B5)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, Leslie Fiedler
(85), author and literary critic, died in Buffalo, NY. His 1960
"Love and Death in the American Novel" analyzed the work of mark
Twain, Ernest Hemingway and others.
   (SFC, 1/31/03, p.A26)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Augusto Monterosso
(81), Honduras-born Guatemalan writer, died in Mexico City. His work
included "Perpetual Movement" (1972); "The Letter E: Fragments of a
Diary" (1987); and "The Magic Word" (1983).
   (SFC, 2/10/03, p.B5)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Robert K. Merton
(b.1910), writer and sociologist, died. In 1965 he authored “On the
Shoulders of Giants” (OTSOG), wherein he traced the eponymous title,
usually attributed to Isaac Newton, to Bernard of Chartres in about
1130. [see 1159]
   (www.asanet.org/footnotes/mar03/indextwo.html)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, The
National Book Critics Circle for general nonfiction went to Samantha
Power for "A Problem from Hell: American and the Age of Genocide."
   (SFC, 2/27/03, A2)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Michael
Moore won best original screenplay for "Bowling for Columbine" in
the 55th annual Writer’s Guild Awards.
   (SFC, 3/10/03, p.D2)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Howard Fast
(b.1914), historical fiction author, died in Old. Greenwich, Conn.
His books included "Citizen Tom Paine" (1943), "Freedom Road"
(1944), "Spartacus" (1953) and "The Naked God" (1957).
   (SFC, 3/13/03, p.A21)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Amanda Davis (32),
writing professor at Mills College in Oakland, Ca., was killed in a
small plane crash near Ashville, NC, along with her parents. She was
on a book signing tour for her novel "Wonder When You’ll Miss Me."
   (SFC, 1/19/02, p.D4)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Carolyn Doty
(b.1941), novelist and prof. of English at U. of Kansas, died. Her 4
novels included "A Day Later" (1980). "She managed to peer into
corners of human behaviour that others overlooked."
   (SFC, 3/29/03, p.A12)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 21, Leon Uris (78),
author, died on New York's Shelter Island. His books included
"Battle Cry" (1953), the best-selling "Exodus" (1958) and "Mila 18"
(1960).
   (AP, 6/24/03)(SFC, 6/25/03, p.A25)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Antonis Samarakis
(84), Greek writer and children's rights activist, died. His books
included the novel "Mistake" (1965).
   (SFC, 8/11/03, p.A17)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Winston Graham
(93), author of the hugely popular Poldark novels, died in Sussex,
England. His other novels included "Marnie" (1961).
   (AP, 7/11/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Roberto Bolano
(b.1953), Chilean author, died in Spain. His novel “2666” was
published posthumously in 2006. In 2007 his novel “The Savage
Detectives” (1998) was made available in English. His work explored
both the condition of the writer and the chronic violence in Latin
America.
  Â
(www.absoluteastronomy.com/enc3/roberto_bola%C3%B1o)(SSFC, 4/1/07,
p.M1)(Econ., 5/9/20, p.24)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Carol Shields
(68), the Pulitzer-prize winning author who wrote "The Stone
Diaries" (1995) and more than 20 other books, died at her home in
Victoria, British Columbia.
   (AP, 7/17/03)(SFC, 7/18/03, p.A29)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Brazilian novelist
Rubem Fonseca (b.1925) won Mexico's prestigious Juan Rulfo Prize for
literature.
   (AP, 8/4/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Marion Hargrove
(83), American writer, died in Long Beach, Calif. She was noted for
the bestselling World War II comedy novel “See Here, Private
Hargrove,” which was made into a 1944 movie with Robert Walker as
Hargrove and Donna Reed as his love interest.
   (AP,
8/30/04)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Hargrove)
2003      Aug 24, Sir Wilfred
Thesiger (93), writer, explorer and chronicler of the world's
vanishing ways of life, died. Thesiger's most famous books were
"Arabian Sands," about his travels with the Bedu people across the
Empty Quarter of southern Arabia in the 1940s, and "The Marsh
Arabs," the story of the Shiite marsh dwellers of southern Iraq.
   (AP, 8/26/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Mario Monteforte
Toledo, Guatemalan writer and activist, died. His work included the
1952 novel "En Donde Acaban los Caminos" (Where the Roads End).
   (SFC, 9/5/03, p.A23)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, George Plimpton
(b.1927), writer and participatory journalist, died in NYC at age
76. He helped found the Paris Review in 1953. His books included
"Paper Lion" (1966).
   (SFC, 9/27/03, p.A2)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Edward Said (67),
Palestinian American journalist, critic and author, died. His books
included "Orientalism" and "Culture and Imperialism."
   (SSFC, 12/28/03, p.E9)(Econ, 10/4/03, p.84)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 29, Harry Clement
Stubbs (81), science fiction writer, died. His books included
"Mission of Gravity" (1953).
   (SFC, 11/1/03, p.A21)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct, Vol. 1 of Osamu
Tezuka's "Buddha" series was published in the US. The 8-volume epic
was about the life and times of Siddartha.
   (SSFC, 4/4/04, p.F1)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 15, Mohamed Choukri
(68), a Moroccan writer whose tales about his experiences with drugs
and homosexuality were banned at home, died in Tangiers. His
best-known work, "For Bread Alone" (1981), was published in
Paris and told of his difficult adolescence.
   (AP, 11/16/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, Ahmadou Kourouma,
Ivorian writer, died. His 5th novel, incomplete, was published in
French in 2004.
   (Econ, 8/28/04, p.76)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 18, Charles Berlitz
(90), linguist and author, died in Florida. His books included "The
Bermuda Triangle" (1974), and "Native Tongues," a compendium of
language history.
   (SFC, 1/5/04, p.B5)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 27, Juan Garcia Ponce
(71), a renowned Mexican art critic, translator and prize-winning
novelist, died. Ponce was born in Merida, the capital of Yucatan
state, on Sept. 22, 1932. The author of at least 50 books, Ponce
wrote novels, plays, screenplays and essays and was considered a
master of erotic literature.
   (AP, 12/28/03)(SFC, 12/29/03, p.A12)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, John Gregory Dunne
(b.1932), author, screenwriter and husband of Joan Didion, died in
NYC. His novels included "True Confessions" (1977).
   (SFC, 1/1/04, p.A23)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Monica Ali authored “Brick
Lane,” a novel that evokes Bangladeshi community of London, England.
   (Econ, 6/30/12, p.85)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Dan Brown authored the
best-seller thriller novel "The Da Vinci Code." The story held that
Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and fathered a daughter; that
the Bible was put together by a 4th century emperor with a thing
against women; and that the Catholic Church is a criminal
conspiracy.
   (SFC, 8/30/03, p.D1)(Econ, 5/20/06, p.34)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Paul Elie authored "The
Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage." It was a
group biography of Doris Day, Thomas Merton, Flannery O’Connor and
Walker Percy.
   (SSFC, 4/20/03, p.M3)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â The purported memoir “A
Million Little Pieces” by James Frey was published. In 2005 it was
endorsed by Oprah Winfrey and became a best seller. In 2006 Frey
acknowledged that much of the book was falsified.
   (SFC, 1/27/06, p.A2)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â DBC Pierre won the 2003
Booker Prize for his novel "Vernon God Little."
   (SSFC, 10/26/03, p.M3)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Bangladesh author Salam
Azad published his novel "Bhanga Math" ("Broken Temple") in India.
In 2004 it was banned for blasphemy by the Bangladeshi government.
In 2012 a court in Dhaka issued an arrest warrant for Azad in
response to a petition from a Muslim activist accusing author Salam
Azad of hurting religious sentiment in the banned book. Azad (48)
said he had become a target after protesting an official’s grabbing
of Hindu property.
   (AFP, 6/5/12)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Vikas Swarup, Indian
diplomat, authored his novel “Q&A” while in London. The novel
was turned into the successful film “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008).
   (Econ, 1/31/09, p.90)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Olivia Goldsmith
(54), author of "The First Wives Club" (1992), died in NYC of
complications from plastic surgery. Her book became a revenge
fantasy for wives tossed aside in favor of younger women. It became
a No. 1 film in 1996 starring Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton and Bette
Midler.
   (AP, 1/16/04)(SFC, 1/17/04, p.A17)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, Janet Frame
(b.1924), author, died in Dunedin, New Zealand. Her 3-volume
autobiography was dramatized in the 1990 film "An Angel at My
Table."
   (SFC, 1/31/04, p.A1)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Robert Merle (95),
French author, died. His books included "The Day of the Dolphin,"
which was made into a 1973 film.
   (SFC, 4/1/04, p.B7)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Margaret McCord
Nixon (87), South-African-born author of "The Calling of Katie
Makanya" (1997), died in Venice, Ca.
   (SFC, 4/13/04, p.B7)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Alistair Cooke
(b.1908), television host and author, died in NYC at age 95. His
books included "Alistair Cooke's America" (1972).
   (Econ, 4/3/04, p.89)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 26, Denis Hills (90),
the writer sentenced to death by Idi Amin for describing the Ugandan
dictator as a "black Nero" and "village tyrant," died in southern
England.
   (AP, 5/1/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 26, Hubert Selby Jr.
(b.1928), author of "Last Exit to Brooklyn," died in LA.
   (SFC, 4/27/04, p.B7)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 17, Tahar Ben Jelloun
(59), a Moroccan-born novelist and poet, won the Int’l. IMPAC Dublin
Literary Award for the best work of English fiction for 2002. Linda
Coverdale, translator of “This Blinding Absence of Light,” received
a quarter of the $120,000 prize.
   (SFC, 6/18/04, p.E2)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Ngugi wa Thiongo
(b.1938), exiled Kenyan writer, was accosted by assailants during a
return trip to Nairobi. His face was burned with cigarettes and his
wife was raped.
   (Econ, 8/19/06,
p.70)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngugi_wa_Thiongo)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Nigel Nicolson
(87), English writer and publisher, died. His mother was Vita
Sackville-West.
   (Econ, 10/2/04, p.87)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, French author
Francoise Sagan (69), who shot to fame with her first novel "Bonjour
Tristesse" (1954) at the age of 18 and courted controversy
throughout her life, died. She was a longstanding friend of late
President Francois Mitterrand and was convicted of taking drugs and
for tax evasion.
   (Reuters, 9/24/04)(SSFC, 9/26/04, p.B5)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 19, Britain’s Man
Booker Prize and a $90,000 check was awarded to Alan Hollinghurst
for his novel “The Line of Beauty.”
   (SFC, 10/20/04, p.E2)(SSFC, 10/31/04, p.M1)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 9, Iris Chang
(b.1968), author of the 1997 book "The Rape of Nanking: The
Forgotten Holocaust of WW II," died by suicide in California. In
2007 Paula Kamen authored “Finding Iris Chang: Friendship, Ambition
and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind.” In 2011 Her mother Ying-Ying
Change authored “The Woman Who Could Not Forget: Iris Change Before
and Beyond The Rape of Nanking.”
   (Econ, 11/27/04, p.91)(SFCM, 4/17/05, p.5)(SSFC,
11/11/07, p.M1)(SSFC, 5/15/11, p.G1)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 9, Stieg Larsson
(b.1954), Swedish novelist, died of a heart attack. By 2009 his “The
Millennium Trilogy,” published posthumously, had sold more than 12
million copies around the world. The books centered on the heroine
Lisbeth Salander, a tattooed bisexual waif with autistic tendencies,
a profound distrust of authority, as well as astonishing computer
skills and physical courage. The first book in the trilogy, “The
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” was released as a film in 2010.
   (Econ, 10/31/09,
p.98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stieg_Larsson)(Econ, 3/13/10,
p.85)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, Arthur Hailey
(b.1920), author of the 1968 novel “Airport,” died in the Bahamas.
   (SFC, 11/26/04, p.B3)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 26, John Kimbro (75),
gothic novelist, died in SF. His more than 40 books included the
series “Saga of the Phenwick Women.”
   (SFC, 1/4/05, p.B5)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 28, Susan Sontag (71),
writer, filmmaker and social critic, died of leukemia in NYC. Her 17
books included “Against Interpretation, and Other Essays.” In 2011
Sigrid Nunez authored “A Memoir of Susan Sontag.”
   (SFC, 12/29/04, p.A1)(Econ, 1/8/05, p.77)(SSFC,
4/3/11, p.G1)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Gabriel Garcia Marquez
authored his novel “Memoria de mis Putas Tristes” (A Memoir of My
Sad Whores.”
   (Econ, 12/4/04, p.85)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Arthur Miller
(b.1915), the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, died. His most
famous fictional creation, Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman"
(1949), came to symbolize the American Dream gone awry.
   (AP, 2/11/05)(SFC, 2/12/05, p.A12)(Econ, 2/19/05,
p.84)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Hunter S. Thompson
(b.1937), gonzo journalist, committed suicide at Owl Farm, Woody
Creek, Colo. Thompson inserted himself into his accounts of
America's underbelly and popularized a first-person form of
journalism in books such as “The Rum Diary” (1998) and "Fear and
Loathing in Las Vegas" (1972). His ashes were blown into the
Colorado sky on Aug 20.
   (AP, 2/21/05)(SFC, 2/21/05, p.A8)(Econ, 2/26/05,
p.86)(SSFC, 8/21/05, p.A6)(SSFC, 12/10/17, p.A12)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, Saul Bellow (89),
Nobel winning novelist, died in Brookline, Mass. His books included
“The Dangling Man” (1944), “Herzog” (1964), and “Ravelstein” (2000).
In 2015 Zachary Leader authored “The Life of Saul Bellow: To Fame
and Fortune, 1915-1964.”
   (SFC, 4/6/05, p.A1)(Econ, 4/16/05, p.76)(SSFC,
5/10/15, p.N1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 3, Albanian novelist
Ismail Kadare (b.1936) won the first international version of
Britain's prestigious Man Booker literary prize. Kadare became
famous in his homeland with the 1963 publication of his first novel,
"The General of the Dead Army" (1963). His other works include "The
Concert" (1988) and "The Palace of Dreams" (1981). David Bellos won
the accompanying translator’s prize.
   (AP, 6/3/05)(Econ, 9/10/11, p.96)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, J.K. Rawling’s
latest book, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the 6th of
the series, went on sale.
   (SSFC, 7/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Orhan Pamuk, a
Turkish novelist, was charged with insulting his country's national
character and could face prison. In February Pamuk was quoted as
saying in an interview with a Swiss newspaper magazine:
"Thirty-thousand Kurds and one million Armenians were killed in
these lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it."
   (AP, 8/31/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep, The novel “The Girls
of Riyadh” by Rajaa al-Sanie (23) was published in Lebanon. Only
pirated copies were available in Saudi Arabia. Rajaa Alsanea wrote
the novel as a series of anonymous e-mails about the protagonists.
In 2007 the book became available in English.
   (SFC, 12/16/05, p.A29)(WSJ, 6/29/07, p.W2)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 5, John Fowles
(b.1926), English novelist, died at his home in Lyme Regis, Dorset.
His books included "The Collector" (1963), “The Magus” (1965) and
“The French Lieutenant's Woman” (1969). Volume I of his journals
(1949-1965) was published in May. Volume II (1966-1990) was
published in 2006.
   (SFC, 11/8/05, p.B5)(Econ, 11/19/05, p.92)(SSFC,
10/29/06, p.M1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, In Turkey a trial
against novelist Orhan Pamuk opened in Istanbul. It was then
adjourned to February. Charges were dropped on Jan 23.
   (Econ, 12/24/05, p.71)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Stephenie Meyer (b.1973),
American novelist, authored the first of her vampire romance series
“Twilight.” By 2009 the series consisted of 4 books, of which two
were made into movies.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephenie_Meyer)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Orhan Pamuk authored
“Istanbul,” a personal memoir and cultural history of the city.
   (Econ, 4/9/05, p.71)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, A Turkish court
dropped charges against Orhan Pamuk, the country's best-known
novelist, for insulting "Turkishness," ending a high-profile trial
that outraged Western observers and cast doubt on Turkey's
commitment to free speech. He had been charged under articles 301
and 305 of the penal code.
   (AP, 1/23/06)(Econ, 1/28/06, p.50)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 11, Peter Benchley
(65), "Jaws" author, died in Princeton, N.J.
   (AP, 2/11/07)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Octavia Butler
(b.1947), African-American sci-fi writer, died in Seattle. Her 12
books included “Kindred” (1979).
   (SFC, 3/2/06,
p.B5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavia_Butler)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, Dame Muriel Spark
(b.1918) died in Tuscany, Italy. Her spare and humorous novels made
her one of the most admired British writers of the post World War II
years. Her work of 23 novels, included the autobiographical "The
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1961), which was later adapted for a
Broadway hit (1966) and a movie. In 2010 Martin Stannard authored
“Muriel Spark: The Biography.”
   (AP, 4/15/06)(Econ, 4/22/06, p.83)(SFC, 6/12/10,
p.E2)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Maurice Lever
(b.1935), French writer, died in Paris of cancer. His work included
a biography of Marquis de Sade (1994), “Bloody Rumors” (1993), a
history of violent news stories, and “Scepter and Bauble” (1909), a
history of court jesters.
   (SFC, 5/30/09,
p.E2)(www.imdb.com/name/nm1927840/bio)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 30, Pramoedya Ananta
Toer (b.1925), Indonesian writer, died. He was jailed for 2
years by the Dutch in 1947 and spent years in a labor camp under the
Suharto regime. His novels included “Beauty Is a Wound” and “This
Earth Mankind.”
   (WSJ, 8/10/04, p.D8)(Econ 7/15/17, p.73)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Fred Wander
(b.1917), writer and Holocaust survivor, died in Vienna. His 1970
novel, “The Seventh Well,” describes his survival. The German
edition was translated to English in 2007.
   (SFC, 12/11/07,
p.D2)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Wander)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Mickey Spillane
(b.1918), American mystery writer, died in South Carolina. His 13
Mike Hammer novels began with “I, the Jury” (1946). A number of his
books were made into films including “The Girl Hunters” in which he
played the starring role.
   (SFC, 7/18/06, p.B5)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, David Gemmell
(b.1948), British writer of fantasy novels, died. He wrote over 30
novels.
   (WSJ, 1/23/08,
p.D8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gemmell)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, German novelist
Guenter Grass (78) admitted in an interview that he served in the
Waffen SS, the combat arm of Adolf Hitler's dreaded paramilitary
forces, during World War II. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature
in 1999 for works including his 1959 novel, "The Tin Drum." His new
memoir about the war years, Peeling the Onion” was published in
September, 2006. The English translation came out in 2007.
   (AP, 8/11/06)(SSFC, 7/8/07, p.M1)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Naguib Mahfouz
(94), Arab writer, died in Cairo. He became the first Arab writer to
win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1988) for his novels depicting
modern Egyptian life. Across the span of 34 novels, hundreds of
short stories and essays, dozens of movie scripts and five plays,
Mahfouz depicted with startling realism the Egyptian "Everyman"
balancing between tradition and the modern world.
   (AP, 8/30/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Elisabeth Ogilvie
(89), writer, died at her home in Cushing, Maine. Her 46 books
included the Tide trilogy, which centered on the Bennet family and
lobster-trapping life.
   (SFC, 9/15/06, p.B9)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, André Schwarz-Bart
(b.1928), French novelist of Polish-Jewish origins, died in
Guadeloupe. His books included the novel “The Last of the Just”
(1960), based on the Jewish teaching that the fate of the world lies
with 36 just men.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Schwarz-Bart)(WSJ, 12/9/06,
p.P12)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 10, Britain’s Man
Booker Prize was won by Indian writer Kiran Desai (35) for “The
Inheritance of Loss,” a cross-continental saga that moves from the
Himalayas to NYC.
   (SFC, 10/11/06, p.A16)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 12, Turkish novelist
Orhan Pamuk won the Nobel literature prize for his works dealing
with the symbols of clashing cultures. His uncommon lyrical gifts
and uncompromising politics have brought him acclaim worldwide and
prosecution at home.
   (AP, 10/12/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 1, William Styron
(81), novelist from the American South, died in Massachusetts. His
books included “The Confessions of Nat Turner” (1967) and “Sophie’s
Choice” (1979).
   (SFC, 11/2/06, p.B7)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, Ernestine Gilbreth
Carey (98), co-author of "Cheaper by the Dozen," died in Fresno,
Calif.
   (AP, 11/4/07)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, Bebe Moore
Campbell (56), novelist, died of cancer in Los Angeles. Her novels
centered on race relations and included “Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine”
(1992), which was rooted in the (1955) murder of Emmett Till.
   (SFC, 11/28/06, p.B7)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, John Rae (b.1931),
English novelist and educator, died. In 2009 his diaries were
published under the title: “The Old Boys’ Network: A Headmaster’s
Diaries 1970-1986.”
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rae_(educator))(Econ, 4/25/09,
p.87)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Dave Eggers authored “What
Is the What: The Autobiography of Achak Deng.” Deng, a Sudanese
“lost boy,” managed to escape to Ethiopia and work his way to Kenya
and ultimately America in 2001. Eggers’ novel is based on interviews
with Deng.
   (SSFC, 12/24/06, p.M1)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Gary Shteyngart,
Russian-born American writer, authored his novel “Absurdistan.”
   (SSFC, 1/5/14, p.F3)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Tillie Olsen (94),
writer and SF labor activist, died. In 1961 she won the O. Henry
Award for best short story for her "Tell me Riddle." In 2008 Ann
Hershey (1938-2018) completed her documentary "Tillie Olsen: A Heart
in Action."
   (SFC, 1/10/08, p.E1)(SSFC, 4/15/18, p.C10)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Ryszard
Kapuscinski (b.1932), Belarus-born Polish writer and journalist,
died following heart surgery. He gained international acclaim for
his books chronicling wars, coups and revolutions in Africa, the
Middle East and other parts of the world. His books included "The
Emperor" (1978), a chronicle of the decline of Haile Selassie's
regime in Ethiopia. In 1981 he published "Shah of Shahs," a book
about the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled Iran's Shah Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi. His last book “Travels With Herodotus” was published
shortly after his death. In 2012 Artur Domoslawski’s “Ryszard
Kapuscinski: A Life” (2010), was translated to English by Antonia
Lloyd Jones.
   (AP, 1/24/07)(WSJ, 6/9/07, p.P8)(SSFC, 7/22/07,
p.M1)(Econ, 6/23/12, p.83)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Jean-Francois
Deniau (b.1928), a former French government minister, diplomat,
sailor and novelist, died. His novel "Un Hero Tres Discret" (A Very
Discreet Hero) told of an ordinary man who reinvented himself as a
hero of the World War II Resistance. The book was adapted into a
movie by director Jacques Audiard and given the English-language
title "A Self Made Hero."
   (AP, 1/24/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, Sidney Sheldon
(89), American writer, died. He won awards in three careers,
Broadway theater, movies and television, then at age 50 turned to
writing best-selling novels about stalwart women who triumph in a
hostile world of ruthless men.
   (AP, 1/31/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Lothar-Guenther
Buchheim (89), the German author and art collector best known for
his 1973 autobiographical novel, "Das Boot," died. In 1981, the book
was turned into an acclaimed German film starring Juergen Prochnow
that detailed the hopelessness of war and its effect on sailors
living in the cramped confines of their submarine.
   (AP, 2/23/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Henri Troyat (95),
French writer, died. He fled Russia's revolution as a child and went
on to become one of France's most prolific, popular and respected
authors.
   (AP, 3/5/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Kurt Vonnegut
(b.1922), regarded by many critics as a key influence in shaping
20th-century American literature, died in NYC. He mixed the bitter
and funny with a touch of the profound in books such as
"Slaughterhouse-Five," "Cat's Cradle," and "Hocus Pocus." In 2009
Loree Rackstraw, a former student, authored “Love as Always, Kurt:
Vonnegut As I Knew Him.” In 2011 Charles J. Shields authored “And So
It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life.”
   (AP, 4/12/07)(Econ, 4/21/07, p.98)(WSJ, 3/16/09,
p.A17)(SSFC, 11/27/11, p.F1)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr, The International
Prize for Arabic Fiction was officially launched in Abu Dhabi,
capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In 2008 the Philanthropy
in Abu Dhabi awarded the 1st annual Int’l. Prize for Arabic Fiction
to Bahaa Taher for “Sunset Oasis.”
   (Econ, 3/26/11,
p.95)(http://librarian.lishost.org/?p=1064)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â May 30, Mark Harris
(b.1922 as Mark Harris Finkelstein), American author, died in
Goleta, Ca. His 13 novels and 5 nonfiction books included “Bang The
Drum Slowly” (1956), a baseball novel that he adopted for the 1973
movie of the same name.
   (SFC, 6/1/07, p.B9)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 6, Nigeria's
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie won Britain's Orange Prize for fiction by
women for her book “Half of a Yellow Sun,” becoming the first
African to take the award in its 12-year history.
   (AP, 6/6/07)(Econ, 11/24/07, p.54)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 12, In London Chinua
Achebe (76), a Nigerian novelist, won the Booker Int’l. Prize for
fiction, awarded every 2 years for a body of fiction. He is best
known for his 1st book “Things Fall Apart” (1958).
   (SFC, 6/13/07, p.E5)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Kathleen E.
Woodiwiss (b.1939), author of steamy genre novels, died in
Princeton, Minn. She was widely credited with having founded the
historical romance in its modern carnal incarnation. “The Flame and
the Flower” (1972) was the 1st of her 13 novels.
   (SFC, 7/13/07, p.B8)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, The protracted
suspense finally lifted for Harry Potter fans who flooded bookshops
worldwide to grab the series finale, "Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows," and find out whether author J.K. Rowling slays or spares
the boy wizard.
   (AFP, 7/21/07)(AP, 7/21/08)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Milan Kundera (b.1929),
Czechoslovakia born writer, authored “The Curtain: An Essay in Seven
Parts,” an extended essay on the art of the novel.
   (WSJ, 2/10/07, p.P8)(Econ, 3/10/07, p.83)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Madeleine L’Engle
(b.1918), author, died in Litchfield, Conn. Her more than 60 books
included “A Wrinkle in Time” (1962), winner of the 1963 Newberry
Medal for best American children’s book.
   (SFC, 9/8/07, p.A2)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 5, Walter Kempowski
(b.1929), German writer, died. His work included “Echo Soundings,”
ten volumes of eyewitness accounts of the second world war.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Kempowski)(Econ, 11/14/15,
p.86)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, Anne Enright,
Irish author, won the Man Booker prize for her novel “The
Gathering.”
   (SFC, 10/17/07, p.A2)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, A novel by a former
radio broadcaster in Canada's north won the 2007 Scotiabank Giller
Prize, Canada's most lucrative and prestigious prize for fiction.
Elizabeth Hay's "Late Nights on Air" details the loves and rivalries
of a cast of eccentric characters at a small radio station in
Yellowknife, near Canada's Arctic.
   (Reuters, 11/7/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, Norman Mailer
(84), writer, died. The macho prince of American letters reigned for
decades as the country's literary conscience and provocateur with
such books as "The Naked and the Dead" (1948) and "The Executioner's
Song" (1979). In 2013 J. Michael Lennon authored “Norman Mailer: A
Double Life.”
   (AP, 11/10/07)(SSFC, 11/11/07, p.A7)(SSFC,
12/29/13, p.F5)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 12, Ira Levin (78),
author, died in Manhattan. His work included the best-selling horror
and suspense novels "Rosemary's Baby" (1967), "The Stepford Wives"
(1972), and "The Boys from Brazil" (1976), all later made into
popular films. Levin also wrote for the stage, including "No Time
for Sergeants," starring a young Andy Griffith, and the long-running
"Deathtrap." Both were later adapted to the screen.
   (Reuters, 11/14/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, Jane Rule,
American-born Canadian writer, died at her home on Galiano Island in
British Columbia. Her 1964 novel, “Desert of the Heart,” is
considered a landmark work of lesbian fiction.
   (SFC, 12/10/07, p.C5)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 22, French author
Julien Gracq (97), one of the last links with the pre-World War II
Surrealist movement, died.
   (AP, 12/23/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Joshua Ferris (b.1974)
authored his novel ”Then We Came to the End,” a satire of office
life in an advertising firm.
   (Econ, 1/30/10, p.91)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Xavier Marias (b.1951),
Spanish novelist, completed his 3rd and final volume of “Your Face
Tomorrow,” a metaphysical trilogy subtitled “Poison, Shadow and
Farewell.”
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Mar%C3%ADas)(Econ, 11/28/09,
p.97)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Nassim Nicholas Taleb
(b.1960), Lebanese writer, authored “The Black Swan: The Impact of
the Highly Improbable.” Here he wrote “Don’t ask the barber if you
need a haircut – and don’t ask an academic if what he does is
relevant.” A review by the Sunday Times called it one of the twelve
most influential books since World War II.
   (Econ, 6/2/07,
p.92)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb)(Econ,
5/16/15, p.55)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, George MacDonald
Fraser (82), English author of the "Flashman" series of historical
adventure yarns, died. "Flashman," published in 1969, introduced
readers to an enduring literary antihero: the roguish, irrepressible
Harry Flashman. Fraser’s work also included over 30 movie scripts
including “The Three Musketeers” (1973).
   (AP, 1/3/08)(WSJ, 1/17/08, p.D7)(Econ, 1/12/08,
p.78)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Alain
Robbe-Grillet (85), avant-garde French author, died. He dispensed
with conventional storytelling as a pioneer of the postwar "new
novel" movement.
   (AP, 2/18/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Arthur C. Clarke
(b.1917), English-born science fiction writer, died in Sri Lanka.
Clarke wrote or collaborated on close to 100 books and had moved to
Sri Lanka in 1956. He had just finished his last novel, co-authored
with Frederik Pohl, titled “The Last Theorem.”
   (AP, 3/19/08)(SFC, 3/19/08, p.A2)(SSFC, 8/10/08,
Books p.7)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Rafael Azcona
(b.1926), Spanish novelist and scriptwriter, died. He was known for
films such as the Oscar-winning comedy "Belle Epoque" and Luis
Garcia Berlanga's "The Executioner."
   (AP,
5/21/08)(http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Azcona)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â May 12, Oakley Hall
(b.1920), prolific author and writing teacher, died in Nevada City.
His books included “Warlock” (1958) and “The Art and Craft of Novel
Writing” (1994).
   (SFC, 5/14/08, p.A1)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Salman Rushdie's
novel "Midnight's Children" was named as the greatest Booker Prize
winner ever, scooping a special "best of the best" award for the
second time.
   (AP, 7/10/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, Alexander
Solzhenitsyn (b.1918), Russian Nobel literature laureate (1970),
died of heart failure in his Moscow home. His books, which included
“One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” (1962) and "Gulag
Archipelago" (1973), chronicled the horrors of dictator Josef
Stalin's slave labor camps. In 1974, he was stripped of his
citizenship and put on a plane to West Germany for refusing to keep
silent about his country's past.
   (Reuters, 8/4/08)(WSJ, 8/9/08, p.W12)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, Dave Freeman (47),
co-author of "100 Things to Do Before You Die" (1999), a travel
guide and ode to odd adventures that inspired readers and imitators,
died after hitting his head in a fall at his home in Venice, Ca.
   (AP, 8/26/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, David Foster
Wallace (b.1962), the author best known for his 1996 novel "Infinite
Jest," was found dead in his home in Claremont, Ca. In 2012 D.T. Max
authored “Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster
Wallace.”
   (AP, 9/13/08)(SSFC, 9/14/08, p.B7)(SSFC, 9/2/12,
p.F1)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, James Crumley
(1939), American novelist, died in Missoula, Montana. His books
included “The Last Good Kiss” (1978). The opening line of that book
has been widely called the best in crime fiction.
   (SFC, 9/20/08,
p.B5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Crumley)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, The Swedish Academy
announced French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio (b.1940)) as
the 2008 Nobel Prize in literature for his poetic adventure and
"sensual ecstasy." Le Clezio made his breakthrough as a novelist
with "Desert," in 1980.
   (AP, 10/9/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, Indian author
Aravind Adiga (b.1974) won the 2008 Booker Prize with his first
novel: “The White Tiger.” The book follows Balram Halwai, the son of
a rickshaw puller, who dreams of better things than life as teashop
worker and driver.
   (AFP, 10/15/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 26, Tony Hillerman
(b.1925), author of the acclaimed Navajo Tribal Police mystery
novels and creator of two of the unlikeliest of literary heroes —
Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee — died of pulmonary
failure.
   (AP, 10/27/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, Studs Terkel
(b.1912), Chicago radio personality and writer, died. His books
included “The Good War,” which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1984.
   (SFC, 11/1/08, p.A2)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, Michael Crichton
(b.1942), doctor turned author and film director, died in LA. His
books included “The Andromeda Strain” (1969), “The Great Train
Robbery” (1975) and “Jurassic Park” (1990), all of which were made
into popular films. He also created the TV series ER in 1994.
   (SFC, 11/6/08, p.A4)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, Afghan writer Atiq
Rahimi won France's top book prize, the Goncourt, for a novel penned
in French, "Syngue Sabour", or Stone of Patience.
   (AFP, 11/10/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 18, George C. Chesbro,
US writer, died. His 27 novels included a detective series featuring
Mongo, a dwarf detective. “Shadow of a Broken Man” (1977) starred
Mongo and proved to be Chesbro’s breakout hit.
   (SFC, 11/27/08, p.B8)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, In Spain novelist
Juan Marse (75), known for his descriptions of hardship in Catalonia
during the Spanish civil war (1936-1939), won the Cervantes Prize,
the Spanish speaking world’s highest literary prize.
   (SFC, 11/28/08, p.E10)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 18, Conor Cruise
O’Brien (89), Irish diplomat and man of letters, died. His books
included “To Katanga and Back” (1962) and “Religion and Politics”
   (1984).
   (SSFC, 12/21/08, p.B6)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 24, Harold Pinter
(78), a Nobel Prize-winning British playwright, died. He was one of
theater's biggest names for nearly half a century. His 32 plays
included "The Birthday Party", "The Dumb Waiter" and "The
Homecoming". His first play, "The Room," appeared in 1957 and his
breakthrough came with "The Caretaker" in 1960. In 2010 Antonia
Fraser published “Must You Go? My Life With Harold Pinter.”
   (AFP, 12/25/08)(SSFC, 11/7/10, p.F4)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, Paul Hofmann (96),
Austria-born writer, died in Rome. During WWII he informed on his
Nazi commanders in occupied Rome and later became a New York Times
correspondent. Hofmann authored over a dozen books, including "That
Fine Italian Hand," "The Seasons of Rome: A Journal" and "O Vatican!
A Slightly Wicked View of the Holy See."
   (AP, 1/1/09)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Suzanne Collins authored
“The Hunger Games,” the first book of a trilogy. The sequels were
titled “Catching Fire” (2009) and “Mockingjay” (2010). A film
followed in 2012 based on the first book.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Patrick French authored
“The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V. S.
Naipaul.” V.S, Naipaul (b.1932), English novelist born in
Chaguana, Trinidad, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.
   (SFC, 10/12/01, p.C1)(WSJ, 11/7/08, p.W10)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jonah Goldberg authored
“Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left from
Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning.”
   (WSJ, 1/4/08, p.W5)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jay Parini authored
“Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America.”
   (WSJ, 11/8/08, p.W8)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Slavoj Zizek, Slovenian
writer, authored “Violence.” It was a smaller offspring of his
larger book “In Defense of Lost Causes,” also published this year.
   (SSFC, 9/28/08, Books p.7)
2009      Jan 11, Arne Naess
(b.1912), Norwegian philosopher, writer and mountaineer, died. He
was best known for launching the concept of "deep ecology,"
promoting the idea that Earth as a planet has as much right as its
inhabitants, such as humans, to survive and flourish.
   (AP, 1/13/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, John Mortimer
(b.1923), British lawyer and writer, died. He was the creator of the
curmudgeonly criminal lawyer Rumpole of the Bailey.
   (AP, 1/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, In Thailand Harry
Nicolaides (41), an Australian writer, was sentenced to three years
in prison for insulting Thailand's royal family in his novel, a rare
conviction of a foreigner amid a crackdown on people and Web sites
deemed critical of the monarchy. Bangkok's Criminal Court sentenced
Nicolaides to six years behind bars but reduced the term because he
had entered a guilty plea. His 2005 book “Verisimilitude” had sold 7
copies.
   (AP, 1/19/09)(SFC, 1/20/09, p.A3)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, John Updike
(b.1932), American writer and poet, died of lung cancer. He released
more than 60 books, including 28 novels, in a career that started in
the 1950s, winning virtually every literary prize. In 2014 Adam
Begley authored “Updike.”
   (AP, 1/28/09)(Econ, 1/31/09, p.89)(SSFC, 4/13/14,
p.F3)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Sudanese writer
Tayeb Salih (b.1929), one of the most respected Arab novelists of
the 20th century, died in London where he spent most of his life.
His books included the classic "Season of Migration to the North"
(1966) about a Sudanese man's experiences of life and love in
Britain in the 1960s.
   (AFP, 2/18/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Christopher Nolan
(43), an Irish poet and novelist, died in Dublin. He had refused to
let cerebral palsy get in the way of his writing. Using a "unicorn
stick" strapped to his forehead to tap the keys of a typewriter,
Nolan laboriously wrote out messages and, eventually, poems and
books as well. His autobiography, "Under the Eye of the Clock: The
Life Story of Christopher Nolan," won the prestigious Whitbread
Award in 1988.
   (AP, 2/22/09)(Econ, 2/28/09, p.91)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Corin Tellado
(81), a well-known Spanish author of more than 4,000 romance novels,
died while celebrating the Easter holidays with her family.
   (AP, 4/11/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, French author
Maurice Druon (b.1918), a fighter for France's World War II
Resistance movement and writer of one of its anthems, died. After
the conflict he wrote historical novels including the "Rois Maudits"
(Accursed Kings) series.
   (AP, 4/15/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 19, Author J.G.
Ballard (b.1930), a China-born author and survivor of a Japanese
prison camp, died in London. His vision was so dark and distinctive
it was labeled "Ballardian." His first novel, "The Wind From
Nowhere" (1962) sold well enough for Ballard to become a full-time
writer. Other works included the novels "The Drowned World" and "The
Crystal World" and the story collection "Vermilion Sands." He
reached a wide audience with the autobiographical "Empire of the
Sun" (1984), adapted as a film (1987) by Steven Spielberg.
   (AP, 4/20/09)(WSJ, 4/25/09, p.W12)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â May 17, Mario Benedetti
(b.1920), a prolific Uruguayan writer, died. His novels and poems
reflect the idiosyncrasies of Montevideo's middle class and a social
commitment forged by years in exile from a military dictatorship.
Benedetti's 1960 novel "The Truce" was translated into 19 languages
and along with "Thank You for the Fire" (1965), heralded his
inclusion in the Latin American literary boom in the 1960s. In 1973
he joined thousands of other Uruguayans fleeing the nation's
military dictatorship, spending 12 years in exile in Havana, Madrid,
Lima and Buenos Aires.
   (AP, 5/17/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, Israeli writer
Amos Elon (82), one of the country's leading chroniclers and
critics, died in his adopted home of Italy. His best-known book,
"The Israelis: Founders and Sons" (1971), stood out as one of the
first works by an Israeli to deal with the national aspirations of
the Palestinians.
   (AP, 5/26/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â May 27, Alice Munro (77),
Canadian short writer, won the Man Booker international prize.
   (Econ, 5/30/09, p.86)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Vasily Aksyonov
(b.1932), Russian novelist and Soviet dissident, died in Moscow. He
was forced into exile in 1980 after being branded as “anti-Soviet”
and lived in the US for over two decades. His over 20 novels
included “The Moscow Saga” (1994), which was adopted for a popular
TV series in 2004.
   (SFC, 7/8/09, p.D5)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Â Â Â
Frank McCourt (78), former NYC teacher and Irish-born author, died
of cancer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his memoir “Angela’s Ashes”
(1996).
   (SFC, 7/20/09, p.C5)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, E. Lynn Harris
(b.1955), pioneer of gay black fiction, died while promoting his
latest book in Los Angeles. Long before the secret world of closeted
black gay men came to light in America, Harris introduced a
generation of black women to the phenomenon known as the "down low."
His debut "Invisible Life" (1994) was a coming-of-age story that
dealt with the then-taboo topic.
   (AP, 7/24/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Amos Kenan
(b.1927), Israeli artist and writer, died in Tel Aviv. As a member
of Israel's founding generation his writing and art helped define
modern Israeli culture. Kenan was party to several efforts to create
an alliance with the Palestinians. He helped pen a 1957 manifesto
calling for the creation of a Palestinian state in federation with
Israel at a time when few Israelis acknowledged the Palestinians'
existence as a national group.
   (AP, 8/5/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Dominick Dunne
(b.1925), novelist and Vanity Fair columnist, died. His books
included “The Two Mrs. Grenvilles” (1985), based on the 1955
Woodward murder case.
   (SFC, 8/27/09, p.A9)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, Keith Waterhouse
(80) a prolific British author, journalist and playwright, died.
Waterhouse was best known for the 1959 novel Billy Liar -- the story
of a day-dreamer who plans his escape from a depressing job as an
undertaker. It was made into a film in 1963.
   (AFP, 9/5/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 6, Hilary Mantel won
the 2009 Man Booker Prize for her historical novel “Wolf Hall.” It
covered the period Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon and
marriage to Anne Boleyn. A sequel, “Bring Up the Bodies,” was
published in 2012.
   (Econ, 10/10/09,
p.89)(www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1291)(Econ, 5/5/12,
p.81)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, Jacques Chessex
(b.1934), one of French-speaking Switzerland's leading novelists and
the first non-Frenchman to receive the prestigious Prix Goncourt,
died. He was honored in 1973 with the Prix Goncourt literary award
for his novel "L'ogre" ("The Ogre"), a largely autobiographical
account of a difficult father-son relationship.
   (AP, 10/10/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 2, French-born writer
Marie Ndiaye (b.1967) won France's top literary prize for "Three
Strong Women," her moving tale of the struggles of women in Europe
and Africa. She was born in Pithiviers, to a French mother and a
Senegalese father and currently lived in Berlin.
   (AP, 11/2/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Claude Levi-Strauss
(b.1908), Brussels-born French intellectual, died. He was widely
considered the father of modern anthropology for work that included
theories about commonalities between tribal and industrial
societies. His books included literary and anthropological classics
such as "Tristes Tropiques" (1955), "The Savage Mind" (1963) and
"The Raw and the Cooked" (1964).
   (AP, 11/3/09)(Econ, 11/14/09, p.106)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Francisco Ayala
(103), Spanish novelist and sociologist, died in Madrid. He was one
of Spain's leading scholars and had gone into exile during the
country's decades of dictatorship. Ayala published his first book,
"Tragicomedia de un hombre sin espiritu" (Tragicomedy of a Man
Without Spirit), in 1925. The collapse of moral order and the
hopelessness of human relations are also common themes in
pessimistic and satirical novels such as "Muertes de Perro" (Death
as a Way of Life) and "El Jardin de Las Delicias" (Garden of
Delights).
   (AP, 11/3/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 15, Dr. Brooke
Magnanti (34), who works for The Bristol Initiative for Research of
Child Health, revealed herself to be the woman behind the nom de
plume "Belle de Jour," which is the title of a 1967 French film
starring Catherine Deneuve. Magnanti kept a weblog of her antics in
2003-2004, which were turned into a best-selling book, "The Intimate
Adventures of a London Call Girl." Her memoirs were adapted into a
hit 16-episode television series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl,"
which starred Billie Piper and was screened in countries around the
world.
   (AFP, 11/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 18, In NYC the 60th
annual Book Awards honored Gore Vidal with its lifetime achievement
award. David Eggers won the Literarian Award. Colum McCann won the
fiction prize for his novel “Let the Great world Spin.” T.J. Styles
won the nonfiction award for “The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of
Cornelius Vanderbilt.”
   (SFC, 11/20/09, p.F8)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Yusef Zeidan, Egyptian
writer, won the Arabic Booker Prize for his novel “Azazil” (2008).
It centered on a fifth-century debate between Nestorius, Patriarch
of Constantinople, and Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, over various
arcane ecclesiastical and theological issues.
   (Econ, 5/15/10, p.54)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â In Japan the first two
volumes of “IQ84,” a novel by Haruki Murakami, were published and a
million copies were sold in a few weeks. English translations became
available in 2011.
   (Econ, 11/19/11, p.95)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â In the Netherlands actor
and comedian Herman Koch authored his novel “The Dinner.” It went on
to sell over 1 million copies in 24 countries and in 2012 became
available in English.
   (Econ, 8/11/12, p.72)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Karl Ove Knausgard
(b.1968), Norwegian writer, authored the first of his 6-volume
autobiographical work: “My Struggle” (Min Kamp).
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Ove_Knausg%C3%A5rd)(Econ, 2/2/13,
SR p.14)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Turkish novelist Orhan
Pamuk, 2006 Nobel literature prize winner, authored his 8th novel:
“The Museum of Innocence.
   (AP, 10/12/06)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Irish writer Colm
Toibin was named novelist of the year in Britain's lucrative Costa
Book Awards for his emigrant saga "Brooklyn."
   (AP, 1/4/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Kenn Allan Davis
(78), newspaper illustrator and mystery novel writer, died at his
home in Placer County, Ca. His 8 detective novels featured Carver
Bascombe, an African American private eye. The first in the series
was titled “The Dark Side” (1976), co-written with John Stanley.
   (SFC, 1/19/10, p.C3)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Erich Segal
(b.1937), former Yale professor and author of “Love Story” (1970),
died at his home in London.
   (SFC, 1/20/10, p.C7)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Robert B. Parker
(77), crime novelist and author of the popular Spencer novels, died
in Cambridge, Mass. Parker reinvigorated the detective novel genre
with “The Godwulf Manuscript” (1973).
   (SSFC, 1/24/10, p.F6)(SFC, 5/14/10, p.F6)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, J.D. Salinger
(b.1919), author of “Cather in the Rye” (1951), died at his home in
Cornish, New Hampshire. In 2013 David Shields and Shane Salerno
authored “Salinger,” a biography.
   (SFC, 1/29/10, p.A1)(SSFC, 9/8/13, p.F1)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, In Argentina Tomas
Eloy Martinez (75), author and journalist famed for his writings
about former President Juan Domingo Peron and his glamorous wife
Eva, died.
   (AP, 1/31/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, British author
Dick Francis (b.1920), a former jockey whose thrillers rode high in
best-selling lists for decades, died at his Caribbean home in Grand
Cayman. His first book was a 1957 autobiography titled “The sport of
Queens.” His first novel, “Dead Cert,” came out in 1962 and was
followed by 41 more.
   (AFP,
2/14/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Francis)(SFC, 2/15/10,
p.C3)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr, Amanda Hocking
(b.1984) of Minnesota began selling her “Trylle” vampire-romances as
e-books. By March, 2011, she had sold over a million copies of her
nine books and earned two million dollars from sales, previously
unheard of for self-published authors.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Hocking)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, In Washington
state James Fogle was arrested for armed robbery at a pharmacy in
Redmond. The 1989 film "Drug Store Cowboy" was based on a book by
Fogle written while serving time in prison.
   (SFC, 5/27/10, p.A8)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, Jose Saramago
(b.1922), 1998 Nobel-winning Portuguese writer, died at his home in
the Canary Islands. He had moved there following a 1992 spat with
the government, which he accused of censorship.
   (SFC, 6/19/10, p.C6)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Dame Beryl
Bainbridge, English novelist, died. Her 18 novels included “Injury
Time,” for which she won the Whitbread Prize in 1977.
   (Econ, 7/17/10, p.90)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Geral Rosen (71),
American novelist, died in SF. His 7 books included “Blues for a
Dying Nation” (1972) and his autobiography “Cold Eye, Warm Heart”
(2009).
   (SFC, 8/25/10, p.C8)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â James Ellroy (b.1948),
American crime novelist, authored “The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of
Women.” It was a sort of companion piece to “My Dark Places,” a 1996
account of his obsessive search for his mother’s killer (1958).
   (SSFC, 9/12/10,
p.F1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ellroy)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Canadian first-time
novelist Johanna Skibsrud, author of "The Sentimentalists," was a
surprise winner of the C$50,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize. Nova
Scotia-based specialty publisher Gaspereau Press could produce only
1,000 copies a week of the finely bound book, using an old-fashioned
press.
   (Reuters, 11/11/10)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, John Ross (72), US
poet, author, journalist and political activist who lived in Mexico
and wrote extensively on its leftist political movements, died of
liver cancer. His books included "Rebellion from the Roots:
Zapatista Uprising in Chiapas."Â
   (AP, 1/18/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, John Gross
(b.1935) English literary critic, author, and anthologist, died. His
work included the book: “The Rise and Fall of the Man of Letters”
(1969).
   (Econ, 1/29/11,
p.85)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gross)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Ion Hobana (80),
Romania's best-known science fiction writer, died in Bucharest. His
works were translated abroad has died. His last book, a history of
French science fiction before 1900, was published in November.
   (AP, 2/23/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, SF-based novelist
Victor Martinez (56), died of cancer. His book “Parrot in the Over:
Mi Vida” was awarded the 1996 National Book Award for Young People’s
Literature.
   (SFC, 3/4/11, p.C5)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, The 4th $50
thousand International Prize for Arabic Fiction was split between
Mohammed Achaari of Morocco, author of “The Arch and the Butterfly,”
and Raja Alem of Saudi Arabia, author of “The Dove’s Necklace.” Alem
was the first women winner.
   (Econ, 3/26/11, p.95)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 30, Argentine writer
Ernesto Sabato (b.1911), who led the government's probe of crimes
committed by Argentina's dictatorship, died. His books included "One
and the Universe" (1945), his first novel "The Tunnel" (1948), and
"The Angel of Darkness" (1974).   Â
   (AP, 4/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 2, In London
Nobel-winning writer V.S. Naipaul (78) faced criticism for saying he
does not regard any female authors as his equal, even famed novelist
Jane Austen, because they are "sentimental."
   (AFP, 6/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Theodore Roszak
(b.1933), American writer, died in Berkeley, Ca. His books included
“The making of a Counter-Culture” (1969) and “Where the Wasteland
Ends” (1972).
   (SFC, 7/13/11, p.C4)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, In the Netherlands
author Hella Haasse (93), an award-winning author best known for
chronicling colonial life in the Dutch East Indies, died. Haasse's
first novel, "Oeroeg" (1948), was an instant hit and has been read
at school by generations of Dutch children.
   (AP, 9/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, Internationally
acclaimed Algerian author Boualem Sansal (62) received the annual
German Book Trade Peace Prize and said that people everywhere were
rising up against dictatorship.
   (AFP, 10/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, British writer
Julian Barnes (65) won the Booker Prize for fiction for his novel
“The Sense of an Ending, a novel about youth and memory.
   (SFC, 10/19/11, p.E4)(Econ, 4/6/13, p.97)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 1, Christa Wolf
(b.1929), East German writer, died. Her first novel “Divided Heaven”
(1963) was translated to English in 2013 under the title “They
Divided the Sky.” Her last novel “City of Angels” was also
translated into English in 2013. In 1993 Wolf was revealed to have
been an informer for the Stasi, East Germany’s secret police.
   (Econ, 7/13/13,
p.73)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_Wolf)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 15, Christopher
Hitchens (62), the author, writer and Vanity Fair contributing
editor, died in Houston. He had been battling esophageal cancer
since early 2010. His final essays, under the title: “Mortality,”
were published in 2012.
   (AP, 12/15/11)(SSFC, 9/9/12, p.F3)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Italian author Elena
Ferrante (pseudonym) published “My Brilliant Friend,” the first of
her four “Neapolitan Novels.” The 4th volume “The Story of the Lost
Child” was published in English in 2015.
   (Econ, 8/29/15, p.66)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, In Canada Czech
emigre writer Josef Skvorecky (87) died in Toronto. He had published
the works of former President Vaclav Havel and other authors
persecuted by the communist government at home. His first novel was
"The Cowards," written in 1948-1949, describing the atmosphere of
Skvorecky's native Czech town of Nachod during the 1945 liberation
from Nazism. It was only published in 1958 and then confiscated and
banned. It was later translated into more than 20 languages.
   (Reuters, 1/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, South Korean
author Kyung-sook Shin won Asia's most prestigious prize for
literature for her novel "Please Look After Mom," about a family's
guilty soul-searching after the disappearance of their elderly
mother.
   (AFP, 3/15/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, Maurice Sendak
(83), renowned children's author, died in Connecticut. His books
captivated generations of kids and simultaneously scared their
parents. Sendak wrote and illustrated more than 50 children's books,
including "Where the Wild Things Are," his most famous, published in
1963. Sendak left instructions that his home in Ridgefield become a
museum for his more than 10,000 illustrations.
  Â
(www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/books/maurice-sendak-childrens-author-dies-at-83.html)(SFC,
9/15/14, p.A6)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, Henry Denker (99),
American novelist and playwright, died at his home in NYC. He
authored over 30 novels. From 1947 to 1956 he wrote, directed and
produced “the Greatest Story Ever Told,” a radio drama for which he
won a Peabody Award.
   (SFC, 5/24/12, p.C5)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, Mexican novelist
Carlos Fuentes (b.1928) died in Mexico City. His books included “The
Old Gringo” (1985) and “The Death of Artemio Cruz” (1962).
   (SFC, 5/16/12, p.C4)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 23, Paul Fussell
(1924-2012), American writer and warrior against war, died. His
books included “BAD Or, The Dumbing of America” (1991).
   (Econ, 6/9/12, p.98)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 5, Ray Bradbury (91),
author of Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and other beloved
science fiction novels, died.
   (AP, 6/6/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, US writer, film
director and producer Nora Ephron (b.1941) died at a hospital in New
York. Her 1983 novel “Heartburn” was modeled on her marriage to
former Washington Post journalist Carl Bernstein. She wrote the
screenplays for the film “Silkwood” (1983) and “When Harry Met
Sally” (1989).
   (SFC, 6/27/12, p.C5)(Econ, 7/7/12, p.86)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Stephen R. Covey
(79), Utah-based motivational speaker and author of the best-selling
"Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character
Ethic" (1989), died in Idaho Falls.
   (AP, 7/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Alexander Cockburn
(b.1941), Scotland-born radical leftist writer, died in Germany. His
books included “Corruptions of Empire” (1988).
   (SSFC, 7/22/12,
p.C11)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Cockburn)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Gore Vidal
(b.1925), American author, screenwriter and playwright, died at his
home in Hollywood Hills. His 1948 work “The City and the Pillar”
explored gay life in America. His 25 novels included “Lincoln”
(1984) and “Myra Breckenridge” (1968). In 2015 Jay Parini authored
“Empire of Self: A Life of Gore Vidal.”
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore_Vidal)(SFC,
8/1/12, p.A10) (Econ, 8/11/12, p.82)(Econ, 8/22/15, p.70)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, James Fogle,
author of “Drugstore Cowboy,” died in prison in Washington state.
His autobiographical crime novel led to a 1989 film starring Matt
Dillon.
   (SFC, 8/25/12, p.A5)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, Guan Moye
(b.1955), aka Mo Yan, became the first Chinese writer to win the
literature Nobel Prize. He is best known in the West for "Red
Sorghum", which portrays the hardships endured by farmers in the
early years of communist rule and was made in a film directed by
Zhang Yimou.
   (AP, 10/12/12)(Econ, 10/20/12, p.42)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, British writer
Hilary Mantel won the Booker literary prize for a 2nd time with her
Tudor saga “Bring Up the Bodies,” the 2nd of a planned trilogy about
Thomas Cromwell. Her first part of the trilogy, “Wolf Hall,” won in
2009. In 2020 Mantel published the final volume of her trilogy: "The
Mirror and the Light."
   (SFC, 10/17/12, p.A2)(Econ., 2/29/20, p.66)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, Will Ferguson,
humorist, travel writer and novelist, won Canada's most prestigious
and lucrative literary prize. He had penned “419,” a fictional tale
about the inner workings of Nigerian email scams.
   (Reuters, 10/31/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, The body of Syrian
novelist Mohammed Rashid Roweily (65) was found in the eastern city
of Deir el-Zour, nearly two months after he was kidnapped. His
decomposed body was found along with four other bodies, including
that of a retired army officer. All were kidnapped around the same
time.
   (AP, 11/23/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Finnish writer Sofi
Oksanen (b.1977) authored “When the Doves Disappeared.” It was set
in Estonia as the country was caught between Stalin’s hammer and
Hitler’s anvil. In 2015 it was translated to English by Lola Rogers.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofi_Oksanen)(Econ,
5/2/15, p.74)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Richard Ben Cramer
(b.1950), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, died in Baltimore. His
narrative non-fiction spanned presidential politics and baseball.
   (SFC, 1/9/13, p.A4)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Acclaimed Spanish
writer Antonio Munoz Molina said he will accept the prestigious
Jerusalem Prize, an Israeli award given to authors, despite calls
from pro-Palestinian activists to boycott the Jewish state.
   (AP, 2/10/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, James Herbert
(69), best-selling British horror writer, died at his home in
Sussex. His 23 novels included "The Rats" (1974).
   (Reuters, 3/20/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Nigerian author
Chinua Achebe (82) died. His novels included “Things Fall Apart”
(1958). “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of
the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”
   (AP, 3/22/13)(Econ, 3/30/13, p.90)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, Ruth Jhabvala (85),
novelist and screenwriter, died at her home in Manhattan. Her work
included 19 novels and short-story collections and two Oscars for
her work on the films “A Room With a View” and “Howard’s End.” Her
novel “Heat and Dust” (1975) won Britain’s Booker Prize (1975).
   (SFC, 4/4/13, p.D5)(Econ, 4/13/13, p.94)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 29, Rev. Andrew
Greeley (b.1928), Chicago newspaper columnist and novelist, died in
Chicago. His work included over 100 non-fiction books and some 50
novels, which included a series of about a bishop-detective, Blackie
Ryan.
   (SFC, 5/31/13, p.D7)(Econ, 6/8/13, p.94)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 6, British comic
novelist Tom Sharpe (85), known for his "Wilt" series about a
harassed and hen-pecked university lecturer, died in Spain. His
first novel, "Riotous Assembly" (1971), lampoons South Africa's
apartheid system and the police.
   (AP, 6/6/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 25, Richard Matheson,
American sci-fi and fantasy writer, died in Los Angeles. His 1954
vampire novel “I Am Legend” inspired three different film
adaptations: “The Last man on Earth” (1964), “The Omega Man” (1971),
and “I Am Legend” (2007).
   (SFC, 6/26/13, p.E5)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Albert Murray,
American jazz critic, poet and novelist, died in Harlem. His books
included "The Omni-Americans" (1970), "South to a Very Old Place"
(1971), "Train Whistle Guitar" (1974) and "Stomping the Blues"
(1976).
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Murray_(writer))(Econ.,
8/22/20, p.67)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Elmore Leonard
(b.1925), a former adman who later became one of America's foremost
crime writers, died in Bloomfield Hills, Mi. His over 40 novels
included "Out of Sight," ''Get Shorty" and "Be Cool," which were
made into films.
   (AP, 8/20/13)(SFC, 8/21/13, p.D7)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 2, Tom Clancy
(b.1947), best-selling author of military thrillers, died in
Baltimore. His career took off with the publication of “The Hunt for
Red October” (1985).
   (SFC, 10/3/13, p.D5)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 10, Short story master
Alice Munro (82), who captures the everyday lives and epiphanies of
men and women in rural Canada with elegant and precise prose, won
the Nobel Prize in literature.
   (AP, 10/10/13)(SFC, 10/11/13, p.A3)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 12, Oscar Hijuelos
(b.1951), Pulitzer Prize winner (1990), died in Manhattan. His 1989
novel “The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love” became a best seller.
   (SFC, 10/15/13, p.C3)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 15, New Zealand author
Eleanor Catton (28) became the youngest winner of the Man Booker
Prize for fiction, claiming the award for her novel "The
Luminaries."
   (AP, 10/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 6, Cameroonian author
Leonora Miano scooped France's Femina literary prize and used her
acceptance speech to denounce racist insults directed at the French
justice minister.
   (AFP, 11/7/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, Doris Lessing
(b.1919), the Nobel prize-winning, free-thinking, world-traveling
and often-polarizing British author, died. Her work included "The
Golden Notebook" (1962) and dozens of other novels that reflected
her own improbable journey across the former British empire.
   (AP, 11/17/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, Mexican journalist
and author Elena Poniatowska won the 2013 Cervantes Prize, the
Spanish-speaking world's highest literary honor.
   (AP, 11/19/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, Ida Pollock
(b.1908), romance novelist, died in southwest England. Her more than
120 books included some 70 "bodice-rippers" for romance publisher
Mills & Boon, the British arm of Harlequin Enterprises.
   (AP, 12/9/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Reiner Stach authored
“Kafka: The Years of Insight.” This was Stach’s 2nd volume in his
biography of Franz Kafka (1883-1924).
   (Econ, 7/27/13, p.67)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, British author
Elizabeth Jane Howard (b.1923) died. She was best known for "The
Cazalet Chronicles," which followed the tangled lives and loves of
several generations of an aristocratic household in the run-up to
World War II.
   (AP, 1/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Debut author
Nathan Filer won Britain's Costa Book Award for his novel "The Shock
of the Fall", which draws on his experience as a mental health
nurse.
   (AFP, 1/28/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, Peter Matthiessen
(b.1927), a co-founder of the Paris Review (1953) and two-time
winner of the National Book Award, died at a hospital on Long
Island. His books included “The Snow Leopard” (1978) and “Shadow
Country” (2008).
   (SSFC, 4/6/14, p.A18)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 10, British author Sue
Townsend (68) died. Her books about awkward teenage diarist Adrian
Mole sold tens of millions of copies worldwide.
   (AP, 4/11/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 17, Gabriel Garcia
Marquez (b.1927), Colombian author, died in Mexico City. His
beguiling stories of love and longing brought Latin America to life
for millions of readers and put magical realism on the literary map.
His "One Hundred Years of Solitude," a dream-like, dynastic epic
helped him win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.
   (Reuters, 4/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 25, German-Jewish
writer Stefanie Zweig (81), best known for her autobiographical
novel "Nowhere in Africa" (1995), died. The book retold the story of
her family's time in Kenya. A movie adaptation won an Oscar for Best
Foreign Language Film in 2003.
   (AP, 4/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 6, Farley Mowat
(b.1921), Canadian author, died. His 40 books included “Never Cry
Wolf” (1963). His experience observing wolves in sub-Arctic Canada"
was adapted into a film of the same name in 1983.
   (SFC, 5/9/14, p.D7)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28 Maya Angelou
(b.1928), American poet, writer and civil rights activist, died at
her home in Winston-Salem, NC. Her 1969 memoir “I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings” was the first of her seven memoirs.
   (SFC, 5/29/14, p.A11)(Econ, 6/7/14, p.98)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 25, In Spain
award-winning author Ana Maria Matute (88), best known for her books
set during the Spanish Civil War, died.
   (AP, 6/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, Frank Robinson
(b.1926), LGBT advocate and novelist, died in San Francisco. “The
Glass Inferno,” which he co-wrote with Thomas Scortia, was one of
two books adapted into the film “The Towering Inferno” (1974).
   (SFC, 7/4/14, p.D1)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Curt Gentry
(b.1931), San Francisco-based authored, died. His books included
“The Madams of San Francisco” (1964) and “Helter Skelter: The True
Story of the Manson Murders” (1991).
   {SF, USA, Writer}
   (SSFC, 7/20/14, p.C8)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, American novelist
Thomas Berger (b.1924), author of “Little Big Man” (1964), died in
New York. He authored over 20 books and three were turned into
movies: “Little Big Man” (1970), “Neighbors” (1981) and “Meeting
Evil” (2012).
   (SFC, 7/25/14, p.D5)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, In South Africa
Nadine Gordimer (90), a Nobel literature laureate (1991) and
anti-apartheid activist, died at home in Johannesburg. Her work
included 15 novels and volumes of short stories that explored the
complex of relationships and racial conflict in apartheid-era South
Africa.
   (AFP, 7/14/14)(SFC, 7/15/14, p.A3)(Econ,
7/19/14,p.78)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Bel Kaufman (103),
author of “Up the Down Staircase” (1965), died at her home in
Manhattan. She was the granddaughter of Yiddish writer Sholem
Aleichem.
   (SFC, 7/26/14, p.C3)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, J. California
Cooper (82), author and playwright, died in Seattle. Her 1991 novel
“Family” told a multigenerational story that began with a woman born
as a slave. Her 1978 play “Stranger” earned her the Black Playwright
of the Year award.
   (SFC, 9/25/14, p.D5)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, Patrick Modiano
(69) of France won the 2014 Nobel Prize in literature. He has made a
lifelong study of the Nazi occupation and its effects on his
country. Modiano's novel "Missing Person" won the prestigious Prix
Goncourt in 1978 and is among the more than 40 of his works
published in French.
   (AP, 10/9/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 15, Australian
literature-lovers cheered after Richard Flanagan won the prestigious
Booker Prize with a visceral story of wartime brutality and its
aftermath. Flanagan drew on his father's experiences as a World War
II prisoner of the Japanese for "The Narrow Road to the Deep North,"
which centers on the Burma Death Railway.
   (AP, 10/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, Popular Spanish
author Juan Goytisolo (83) won the 2014 Cervantes Prize, the
Spanish-speaking world's highest literary honor. His works include
"Marks of Identity", "Count Julian" and "Juan the Landless".
   (AP, 11/24/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, British detective
writer P. D. James (b.1920) died at home in Oxford. She created the
best-selling series featuring poetry-writing sleuth Adam Dalgliesh.
Her first novel, "Cover Her Face," was published in 1962.
   (AFP, 11/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, Colorado-based
author Kent Haruf (71) died. He wrote "Plainsong" and several other
novels set in small-town Colorado.
   (AP, 12/1/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, Psychotherapist and
writer Nathaniel Brandon (84), former devotee and lover of Ayn Rand,
died at his home in Los Angeles.Â
   (SFC, 12/10/14, p.E8)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, Ralph Giordano
(b.1923), a German writer and Holocaust survivor who spoke out
against anti-Semitism and the far right, and later became a
prominent critic of Germany's failure to integrate Muslim
immigrants, died. Giordano was known for his autobiographical 1982
novel "The Bertinis" and 22 other books.
   (AP, 12/10/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Tom Robbins (b.1936)
authored “Tibetan peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life.”
His earlier work included “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” (1976).
   (SSFC, 6/22/14, p.F7)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Canadian novelist Emily
St. John Mandel (b.1979) authored "The Glass Hotel." Here she tells
of a flu pandemic that devastates the Earth's population.
   (Econ, 3/28/20, p.74)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, French writer’s
Michel Houellebecq “Soumission” (Submission) was published. It
depicted a near future in which Islamists win France’s presidency
and compromise its freedoms. Houellebecq in 2001 claimed that Islam
was “the stupidest religion.”
   (Econ, 1/10/15, p.7)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Tadeusz Konwicki
(b.1926), a prominent Polish writer and filmmaker. died in Warsaw.
His works during the communist era lampooned the authoritarian
Soviet-imposed system. He was best known for his novels "A
Minor Apocalypse," a satire of life in a totalitarian state, and
"The Polish Complex," a polemic on a national historical condition
tragically defined by military defeats and foreign occupation.
   (AP, 1/8/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Robert Stone
(b.1937), author of “Dog Soldiers” (1974), died at his home in Key
West, Fla.
   (SFC, 1/12/15, p.A6)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, British author
John Bayley (89) died of a heart ailment. His "Elegy for Iris"
(1999) chronicled his wife's descent into Alzheimer's Disease and
was turned into an Oscar-winning movie starring Judi Dench and Jim
Broadbent.
   (AP, 1/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, Australian
best-selling author Colleen McCullough (b.1937) died on Norfolk
Island after a long illness. Her 25 novels included "The Thorn
Birds" (1977), which sold 30 million copies worldwide.
   (AP, 1/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Martin Gilbert
(78), Winston Churchill's official biographer and a leading
historian of the Holocaust, died following a lengthy illness. His 80
books included eight on the Holocaust as well as a three-volume
"History of the 20th Century."
   (AP, 2/4/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, South African
author, Andre Brink (b.1935), died aboard a KLM flight travelling
from the Netherlands to Cape Town. He used his work to question the
policies of South Africa's apartheid regime. His 1975 book, "Looking
on Darkness," the first of Brink's books distributed to the United
States, was banned by the South African government until 1982.
   (AP, 2/7/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, In Turkey Yasar
Kemal (91), one of the country’s best-known novelists with worldwide
readership, died. His books included of "Memed, My Hawk" (1955) a
story about feudal relations in Turkey's traditional southern
regions. Nine of his novels were made into films. Kemal never
promoted his Kurdish background. In the mid-1990s he was convicted
for an article denouncing racism against minorities in Turkey,
especially Kurds.
   (AP, 2/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, British science
fiction and fantasy author Terry Pratchett (66) died. His 40
Discworld novels made him Britain’s bestselling author in the 1990s.
By 2015 he sold some 85 million books in 37 languages.
   (AFP, 3/12/15)(Econ., 3/28/15, p.94)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, Ivan Doig (75),
American award-winning author who chronicled the American West, died
at his Seattle home. His 16 books, including the memoir “This House
of Sky,” were set in his native Montana.
   (SFC, 4/10/15, p.D3)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, Uruguayan author
Eduardo Galeano (74) died in Montevideo. His work included "The Open
Veins of Latin America," a classic of leftist literature.
   (AP, 4/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, German author
Gunter Grass (b.1927) died in Luebeck. the Nobel-winning writer
(1999) achieved worldwide fame with his debut and best-known novel
"The Tin Drum" in 1959. In his last interview on March 21 Grass said
he feared humanity was "sleepwalking" into a world war.
   (AFP, 4/14/15)(SFC, 4/14/15, p.A5)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 2, British mystery
writer Ruth Rendell (b.1930), crime novelist, died in London. She
brought psychological insight and social conscience to the classic
British detective story. Her Wexford books were made into a popular
TV series, "The Ruth Rendell Mysteries," which ran for more than a
decade from 1987. In 1997 she was appointed to the House of Lords by
PM Tony Blair's Labour government, becoming Baroness Rendell of
Babergh.
   (AP, 5/2/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 2, Writer Michael
Blake (69) died in Tucson, Az. His novel "Dances With Wolves" became
a major hit movie and earned him an Academy Award for the
screenplay.
   (AP, 5/4/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 19, Britain’s Man
Booker Int’l. Prize was awarded to Hungarian novelist Laszlo
Kraszhnahorkai, shortly after his latest novel “Seiobo There Below”
was translated by Ottilie Mulzet.
   (Econ, 5/23/15, p.72)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 10, Acclaimed Cuban
novelist Leonardo Padura (59) was awarded Spain's Princess of
Asturias award for literature. His 2009 novel, "The Man Who Loved
Dogs," was praised by critics internationally.
   (AP, 6/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Zimbabwean writer
Chenjerai Hove (59) died in exiled in Norway. His work largely
portrayed the struggles of Zimbabwe's powerless groups. He left
Zimbabwe for France in 2001 at the height of Zimbabwe's political
tumult, claiming he was in danger. He later relocated to Norway.
   (AP, 7/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, E.L. Doctorow
(84), one of America's most accomplished novelists of recent
decades, died in New York. He was best known for his historical
fiction such as such as "Ragtime" (1975) "Billy Bathgate" (1998) and
"The March” (2006).
   (AFP, 7/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Joost Zwagerman
(b.1963), Dutch writer, poet and essayist, committed suicide. In
2017 “The Penguin Book of Dutch Short Stories,” edited by Zwagerman,
was published.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joost_Zwagerman)(Econ, 3/11/17, p.79)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Pres. Obama
awarded Alice Waters (71), the Berkeley pioneer of the farm-to-table
movement, the National Humanities Medal. Nine other recipients
included actress Sally Field, and writer Larry McMurtry.
   (SFC, 9/11/15, p.D1)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Best-selling
romance novelist Jackie Collins (77), whose first book was so steamy
it was banned in some countries, died of breast cancer in
California. She was the sister of actress Joan Collins (82).
   (AFP, 9/20/15)(Econ, 9/26/15, p.94)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 5, In Sweden Henning
Mankell (67), internationally renowned crime writer, died in
Goteborg. His books about the gloomy, soul-searching police
inspector Kurt Wallander enticed readers around the world. His work
included some 50 novels and numerous plays.
   (AP, 10/5/15)  Â
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 8, Belarusian writer
Svetlana Alexievich (b.1948) won the Nobel Prize in literature for
works that chronicled the great tragedies of the Soviet Union and
those that followed in the wake of its 1991 collapse. Her work
included "Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War"
(1989), “Enchanted with Death” (1993) and "Voices from Chernobyl:
Chronicle of the Future" (1997).
   (AP, 10/8/15)  Â
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, Jamaican author
Marlon James won the Man Booker Prize for "A Brief History of Seven
Killings", a re-telling of the attempted assassination of musician
Bob Marley.
   (AFP, 10/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 15, Author Stephen
Birmingham (b.1929) died at his home in New York. He authored some
30 books, almost all of which were about the super-wealthy including
“Our Crowd: The Great Jewish Families of New York” (1967).
   (SFC, 11/25/15, p.D10)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 18, The National Book
Award for Fiction was awarded to Adam Johnson for his story
collection “Fortune Smiles.” Ta-Nehisi Coates won the nonfiction
award for “Between the World and Me,” an open letter to his son (15)
about race in America.
   (SFC, 11/19/15, p.A8)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, Officials said
Israel's Education Ministry has ruled against the inclusion of a
novel about a romance between an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man
in the Hebrew high school curriculum because it feared it could
raise tensions among pupils. The plot of Dorit Rabinyan's novel
"Borderlife" takes place in New York.
   (Reuters, 12/31/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Adam Sisman authored
authored “John le Carre: The Biography.” John le Carre’s real name
is David Cornwell (b.1931).
   (Econ, 10/31/15, p.77)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â The novel “Go Set a
Watchman” by Harper Lee (89) was published. The original manuscript
had preceded her classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1960).
   (Econ, 7/18/15, p.71)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Intizar Hussain
(b.1925) Pakistani writer of Urdu novels, short stories, poetry and
nonfiction, died in Lahore. He is widely recognized as a leading
literary figure of Pakistan and was among the finalists of the Man
Booker Prize in 2013. His books included "A Chronicle of the
Peacocks: Stories of Partition, Exile and Lost Memories" (2002).
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intizar_Hussain)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Mohamed Heikal
(b.1923), one of Egypt's most prolific political authors and a
confidant of the country's socialist president in the 1950s and
1960s, died in Cairo. Nasser's successor, Anwar Sadat, sidelined
Heikal shortly after he took office in 1971 and a decade later, in
1981, jailed him along with hundreds of government critics.
   (AP, 2/17/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Harper Lee (89),
American author of “To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), died.
   (Econ, 2/27/16, p.82)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Italian author
Umberto Eco (b.1932) died at home in Milan. His books included the
best-selling medieval thriller, "The Name of the Rose" (1980). The
book was adapted for the big screen by Jean-Jacques Annaud in 1986,
starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater.
   (AP, 2/20/16)(Econ, 2/27/16, p.82)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Writer Pat Conroy
(b.1945) died at his home in Beaufort, South Carolina. His novels
included “The Great Santini” (1976) and “The Prince of Tides”
(1986).
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Conroy)(SSFC,
3/6/16, p.A9)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 31, Imre Kertesz (86),
the Hungarian writer who won the 2002 Nobel Prize for Literature for
a body of fiction largely drawn from his experience as a teenage
prisoner in Nazi concentration camps, died at his Budapest home.
"Fateless," the novel that together with other works brought him the
2002 Nobel, finally appeared in 1975 after a decade-long struggle to
have it published.
   (AP, 3/31/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, In Sweden Meg
Rosoff (59) was named the winner of the 5 million kronor ($615,000)
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for literature aimed at children and
young adults. A Boston native living in London, Rosoff's novels
include "How I Live Now" (2004), "Just in Case" (2006) and "What I
Was" (2007).
   (AP, 4/5/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, It was reported
that Chinese author Cao Wenxuan and German illustrator Rotraut
Susanne Berner have been awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Prize
for children's literature during the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
   (AP, 4/6/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 26, Palestinian
novelist Rabai al-Madhoun received the $50,000 award, known as the
"Arabic Booker," for "Destinies: Concerto of the Holocaust and
Nakba" in Abu Dhabi, which sponsors the competition.
   (AFP, 4/27/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â May 16, Han Kang’s “The
Vegetarian” won the Man Booker Int’l. Prize (MBIP) for for fiction.
The South Korea book was translated by Deborah Smith.
   (Econ, 5/21/16, p.77)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, American surgeon
and author Richard Selzer (b.1928) died in Connecticut. His books
include “The Doctor Stories” (1999) and “Mortal Lessons: Notes on
the Art of Surgery” (1996).
   (SFC, 6/17/16, p.D3)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, In Spain US writer
Richard Ford, author of the widely acclaimed novel "Independence
Day," won the prestigious Asturias prize for literature in
recognition of his contribution to American letters.
   (AP, 6/15/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Elie Wiesel (87),
holocaust survivor, author of 57 books and Nobel Peace Prize
laureate (1986), died at his home in NYC.
   (Reuters, 7/3/16)(Econ, 7/9/16, p.78)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Mexican writer
Ignacio Padilla (47), a leading member of the so-called "crack
movement," died in a car accident in Queretaro state. The 1996
“crack manifesto” sought to help the country's authors find a voice
beyond magical realism.
   (AP, 8/21/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Canadian novelist
W.P. Kinsella (81), author of “Field of Dreams” (1982), died in
Hope, British Columbia. The book became the blueprint for the 1989
Oscar-nominated film of the same name.
   (SSFC, 9/19/16, p.C2)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, In Jordan
prominent writer Nahed Hattar was gunned down shortly before
arriving for a court hearing for sharing a cartoon deemed offensive
to Islam. The killer was immediately arrested. On Dec 20 a military
judge sentenced to death a former mosque prayer leader who killed
Hattar.
   (AP, 9/25/16)(AP, 12/20/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 2, Italian
investigative journalist Claudio Gatti claimed to have identified
Elena Ferrante, the world’s most famous pseudonymous novelist. He
identified her as Anita Raja, the wife of novelist Domenico
Starnone. “My Brilliant Friend,” the first of her four “Neapolitan
Novels,” was published in 2011.
   (Econ, 10/8/16, p.75)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, In Italy Dario Fo
(90), playwright and 1997 Nobel Prize laureate, died.
   (SFC, 10/14/16, p.D10)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 25, New York novelist
Paul Beatty (b.1962) became the first American to win the Man Booker
Prize for Fiction for “Sellout,” his 4th novel.
   (SFC, 10/26/16, p.A6)(Econ, 10/29/16, p.74)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, Colson Whitehead
won the US National Book Award for fiction for his novel “The
Underground Railroad.” Ibram X. Kendi won the nonfiction award for
“Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas
in America. The poetry award went to Daniel Borzutzky for “The
Performance of Becoming Human.”
   (SFC, 11/17/16, p.A11)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 20, Acclaimed Irish
novelist William Trevor (b.1928) died at his adopted English home.
Trevor won the Whitbread Prize three times for “The Children of
Dynmouth” (in 1978), “Fools of Fortune (in 1983), and “Felicia’s
Journey” (in 1994). He was widely regarded as one of the greatest
contemporary writers of short stories in the English language.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Trevor)(SFC, 11/22/16, p.C4)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, William Mandel
(b.1917, leftist activist and long-time broadcaster on the SF Bay
Area KPFA radio, died. He wrote eight books on Soviet history,
politics and culture. His 1999 autobiography was titled “Saying No
to Power.”
   (SFC, 12/8/16, p.D9)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, Spanish novelist
Eduardo Mendoza (b.1943) won the 2016 Cervantes Prize, the
Spanish-speaking world's highest literary honor, for bringing a "new
narrative style to Spanish fiction." His novels included "La verdad
sobre el caso Savolta" (The Truth about the Savolta Case) and “La
ciudad de los prodigios" (City of Marvels).
   (AP, 11/30/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 13, E.R. Braithwaite
(b.1912), the author of “To Sir With Love” (1959), died in
Rockville, Md. A film based on the book was released in 1967.
   (SFC, 12/14/16, p.D12)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 18, Egypt's highest
court ordered the freeing of an author who was jailed for public
indecency when extracts from his sexually explicit novel were
published in a literary newspaper. A chapter from Ahmed Naji's novel
Istikhdam al-Hayat, or Using Life, had been serialized in a
state-owned literary publication.
   (Reuters, 12/18/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 24, British author
Richard Adams (96), author of Watership Down (1972), died in
Oxfordshire. In 1978 the book was made into a movie.
   (SFC, 12/28/16, p.D3)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, John Berger
(b.1926), influential British art critic and prize-winning author,
died in France. The self-declared revolutionary had controversially
backed the far-left Black Panthers. He won the 1972 Booker Prize for
Fiction for his experimental novel "G.", set in pre-World War I
Europe. His “Ways of Seeing” (1972) spawned a BBC series and ushered
in a political perspective to art criticism.
   (AFP, 1/3/17)(SFC, 1/3/17, p.C2)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Novelist and
filmmaker William Peter Blatty (89) died in Maryland. His books
included “The Exorcist” (1971).
   (SFC, 1/14/17, p.A5)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Bharati Mukherjee
(76), Indian-American writer, died at NY Univ. Hospital. Her books
included “The Tiger’s Daughter” (1972).
   (SFC, 2/3/17, p.D3)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Robert James
Waller (77), author of “The Bridges of Madison County” (1992), died
at his home in Fredericksburg, Texas. The book was turned into a
movie in 1995 with Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood and grossed $182
million worldwide.
   (SSFC, 3/12/17, p.A11)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Jimmy Breslin
(b.1928), NYC columnist and best-selling author, died at his home in
Manhattan. His books included “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot
Straight” (1969), based on the life of gangster Joey Gallo. In 1971
it was adopted into a movie.
   (SFC, 3/20/17, p.A10)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 20, Spanish novelist
Eduardo Mendoza (74) was presented with the Cervantes Prize, the
Spanish-speaking world's highest literary honor. Mendoza is best
known for his 1975 novel, "La verdad sobre el caso Savolta" (The
Truth about the Savolta Case) and "La ciudad de los prodigios" (City
of Marvels) of 1986.
   (AP, 4/20/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 24, Robert Pirsig
(b.1928), author of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”
(1974) died at his home in Maine.
   (SFC, 4/25/17, p.A7)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, Jean Fritz, author
of almost 50 books for children, died at her home in Sleepy Hollow,
NY. Many of her books personalized historical figures to teach
children.
   (SFC, 5/22/17, p.C2)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â May 24, Denis Johnson
(67), American fiction writer, poet and playwright, died at his home
at Seaside Ranch, Sonoma County, Ca. His books included the Vietnam
War novel “Tree of Smoke” (2007). It won the National Book Award for
Fiction and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
   (SFC, 5/27/17, p.C3)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, Spanish novelist
Juan Goytisolo (86), known for his experimental novels and political
essays, died at his home in Morocco. In 2014 Goytisolo won Spain's
most prestigious literary award, the Cervantes Prize.
   (AP, 6/4/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 6, Arundhati Roy's
eagerly-awaited second novel, "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness,"
went on sale, two decades after her prize-winning debut "The God of
Small Things" propelled her to global fame and launched her career
as an outspoken critic of injustice in her native India. Roy (55)
became the first Indian woman to win the prestigious Booker Prize
with her 1997 work, which sold around eight million copies and
turned the young author into a star of the literary world.
   (AFP, 6/6/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, Israeli author
David Grossman won the Mann Booker Int’l. Prize for his novel “A
Horse Walks Into a Bar.” Jessica Cohen shared the prize for
translating the book into English from Hebrew.
   (Econ 6/24/17, p.42)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Louise Hay
(b.1926), popular author of self-help books ,died at her home in San
Diego. Her 1984 book “You Can Heal Your Life,” followed her recovery
from cancer and became a best seller.
   (SSFC, 9/3/17, p.C8)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 11, J.P. Donleavy
(91), Irish-American author, died in Ireland. His novels included
“The Ginger Man” (1955).
   (SSFC, 9/17/17 p.C13)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 5, The Nobel
Literature Prize went to Japanese-born British novelist Kazuo
Ishiguro (62). His most well-known novel is "The Remains of the
Day," which was turned into a popular movie of the same title.
   (AP, 10/5/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 5, French writer and
actress Anne Wiazemsky (70), who famously wrote a best-selling
account of her short marriage to New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard,
died of cancer in Paris. She made her screen debut as an elfin
19-year-old in "Au Hasard Balthazar", Robert Bresson's classic 1966
film about a mistreated Christ-like donkey.
   (AFP, 10/5/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, American author
Donald Bain (b.1935) died in White Plains, NY. His 125 books
included the supposed memoir of two stewardesses “Coffee, Tea or Me”
(1967) and 46 “Murder, She Wrote” mysteries, inspired by the TV
series of the same name.
   (SFC, 10/27/17, p.D5)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 6, In France Eric
Vuillard's "L'Ordre du Jour," or "The Agenda," was awarded the
Goncourt Prize in a Paris cafe, part of a long-running tradition.
The novel portrays the Nazis as the product of big business
interests — including businesses that remain major industrial
players today.
   (AP, 11/6/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, Alice Zeniter (31)
won the Students' Goncourt prize, France's most lucrative book prize
for her novel "The Art of Losing," a powerful account of what
happened to an Algerian "harki" family who sided with the French
during the country's war of independence.
   (AP, 11/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, Spain’s Education
and Culture Minister Inigo Mendez de Vigo announced that Nicaraguan
author and former politician Sergio Ramirez Mercado has won the 2017
Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world's highest literary
honor.
   (AP, 11/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 12, Harry Potter
creator J.K. Rowling added another magic moment to her list of
achievements as Prince William made her a royal Companion of Honor.
The title is limited to 65 people "of distinction".
   (AP, 12/12/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 19, American author
Clifford Irving (b.1930) died in Sarasota, Fl. In 1971 he had conned
McGraw-Hill publishers into paying him a $765,000 advance for a book
on Howard Hughes. In 1972 Irving and collaborator Richard Suskind
were indicted on fraud charges and found guilty. The bogus
autobiography wasn’t published until 1999. The ruse became the
subject of the 2006 movie “The Hoax,” starring Richard Gere.
   (SFC, 12/21/17, p.A8)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 28, American novelist
Sue Grafton (77) died in Santa Barbara, Ca. Her best-selling
alphabet series of mystery novels reached “Y Is for Yesterday,”
published last August.
   (SFC, 12/30/17, p.E1)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â British novelist John le
Carre authored “A Legacy of Spies,” his 24th novel.
   (Econ, 9/9/17, p.77)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Israeli novelist
Aharon Appelfeld (b.1932), a Holocaust survivor who became one of
the foremost contemporary Hebrew-language writers, died near Tel
Aviv. He published the first of 46 novels and collections of poetry
in 1962 and won several awards throughout his career.
   (AFP, 1/4/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, America science
fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin (b.1929) died at her home in
Portland, Ore. Her work included 21 novels, more than 10 books of
poetry and more than 100 short stories.
   (SFC, 1/24/18, p.D3)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Israel’s Education
Ministry announced that celebrated Israeli author David Grossman
(64) has been awarded the country's highest literary accolade, the
Israel Prize for Literature, for this year. Grossman also won the
2017 Man Booker International Prize for his novel "A Horse Walks
Into a Bar." It was the Israel Prize winner for 2018.
   (AP, 2/12/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, American novelist
Anita Shreve (b.1946) died in New Hampshire. her 19 novels included
"The Pilot's Wife" (1998) and "the Weight of Water" (1997), which
became a 2000 film directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
   (SSFC, 4/1/18, p.C3)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 2, Annie Proulx
(b.1935), American novelist, was named the recipient of the Library
of Congress Prize for American Fiction. Her books included "The
Shipping News" (1993) and "Brokeback Mountain" (1997).
   (SFC, 5/3/18, p.E2)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 11, American writer
John Greenfield (90) died in Los Angeles. His work included three
books about his autistic son: A Child Called Noah" (1972), "A Place
for Noah" (1978) and "A Client Called Noah" (1987).
   (SSFC, 6/3/18, p.C4)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, American writer
Tom Wolfe (b.1930) died in Manhattan. His books included "The
Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" (1968), "The Right Stuff" (1979) and
"Bonfire of the Vanities" (1987).
   (SFC, 5/16/18, p.A1)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 22, American novelist
Philip Roth (b.1933) died of congestive heart failure in NYC. His
more than 25 books included "Portnoy's Complaint" (1969) and
"American Pastoral" (1997).
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Roth)(SFC,
5/23/18, p.A12)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 23, Richard Peck
(b.1934), award winning novelist for young readers, died in
Manhattan of kidney failure following a diagnosis of bladder cancer.
He authored more than 40 books and came out as gay about the time of
his last novel "The Best Man" (2016).
   (SFC, 5/30/18, p.D5)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Canadian author
Michael Ondaatje's "The English Patient," which won the British Man
Booker Prize in 1992, was named winner of the Golden Man Booker
winner, a special award to mark the Booker's 50th anniversary.
   (AP, 7/24/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, British author
V.S. Naipaul (85), a famously outspoken Nobel laureate (2001) who
wrote on the traumas of post-colonial change, died in London. His
more than 30 books included "A House for Mr Biswas" (1961), which
looked at the almost impossible task for Indian immigrants in the
Caribbean of trying to integrate into society while keeping hold of
their roots.
   (AFP, 8/12/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, David Wong Louie
(63), American writer, died at his home in Venice, Los Angeles
County. His books included the novel "The Barbarians Are Coming"
(2000). His stories explored identity, alienation and acceptance.
   (SFC, 9/28/18, p.D7)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, The US National
Book Foundation announced that Isabel Allende will be given a medal
for "distinguished contribution to American letters." The Peruvian
native is the first Spanish-language author and first since Saul
Bellow (in 1990) born outside the US to receive the prize.
   (AP, 9/20/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, Egypt arrested
economist Abdel-Khaleq Farouq and his publisher, Ibrahim el-Khateib,
over a book that challenged Pres. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's economic
policies. The book — entitled "Is Egypt Really a Poor Country?" —
has not been published, but was posted online by activists. On Oct.
29 an Egyptian court released Abdul Khalik Farouk and the owner of
the print shop that published his book.
   (AP, 10/23/18)(Reuters, 10/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, Hong Kong
journalist Louis Cha (94), a best-selling Chinese martial arts
novelist, died after a long illness. Cha's novels about ancient
Chinese swordsmen have sold millions and are among the most widely
read in the Chinese-speaking world.
   (AP, 10/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, Japanese author
Haruki Murakami (69) announced that he is working to set up a
library that will showcase his works and also serve as a meeting
place for research and international exchanges.
   (AP, 11/4/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, C.Y. Lee (102),
author of the Flower Drum Song (1957) died in Los Angeles. It was
adopted for Broadway (1958-1960) and turned into a film in 1961.
   (SFC, 2/5/19, p.C3)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, In Hong Kong
dissident Chinese author Ma Jian (65) hit out at threats to freedom
of speech saying it was the "basis of civilization" after a struggle
to find a venue to host his talks at Hong Kong's literary festival.
   (AFP, 11/10/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, China's state-run
media said female novelist Tianyi has been sentenced to 10 years in
jail for writing and distributing books containing explicit
descriptions of gay male sex. She attracted the scrutiny of
authorities after one of her homoerotic novels, "Gongzhan", went
viral last year.
   (AFP, 11/19/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 28, Amos Oz (b.1939),
celebrated Israeli novelist and passionate peace advocate, died of
cancer. His stirring memoir "A Tale of Love and Darkness" (2002)
became a worldwide bestseller.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_Oz)(AFP,
12/28/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, In western Germany
Edgar Hilsenrath (92), a German-Jewish writer whose fictional
account of the Holocaust from the perspective of a Nazi perpetrator
became a best-seller, died. His first novel, "Night," recounting the
horrors of trying to survive in a Jewish ghetto, was published in
1954. His 1971 novel "The Nazi and the Barber," a grotesque story
about an SS member who pretends to be Jewish after the war to escape
prosecution, sold millions of copies worldwide.
   (AP, 1/1/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Diana Athill
(b.1917), a British writer and editor, died. She honed the work of
novelists including John Updike and Margaret Atwood before finding
late-life fame as a frank and fearless memoirist.
   (AP, 1/24/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, In Iraq a
motorcycle gunman shot dead novelist Alaa Mashzoub (50) late today
close to his house in the Shi'ite Muslim city of Kerbala.
   (Reuters, 2/3/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, British writer
Rosamunde Pilcher (94) died overnight in Scotland. She wrote more
than 12 novels including the family saga "The Shell Seekers" (1987),
which sold millions of copies around the world.
   (AP, 2/7/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, British author
Andrea Levy (62) died of cancer. She drew on her Jamaican heritage
for novels such as "Small Island." The book also won the 2004
Women's Prize for Fiction, for English-language novels published in
Britain, and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize.
   (AFP, 2/15/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, Charles Van Doren
(93), the academic who accepted answers to beat competitors on NBS's
"Twenty-One" game show in 1956-1957, died in Connecticut. His books
included "The Idea of Progress" (1967) and "A History of Knowledge:
Past, Present, and Future" (1991).
   (SFC, 4/12/19, p.C5)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 17, American author
Herman Wouk (b.1915) died at his home in Palm Springs, Ca. His many
acclaimed books included "The Caine Mutiny" (1951), a winner of the
1952 Pulitzer Prize.
   (SFC, 5/20/19, p.A6)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, German authorities
handed over to Israel some 5,000 documents kept by a confidant of
Franz Kafka, a trove whose plight could have been plucked from one
of the author's surreal stories.
   (AP, 5/21/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 23, British author
Judith Kerr (95), who enchanted generations of children with simply
illustrated tales such as "The Tiger Who Came to Tea" (1968) and
"Mog the Forgetful Cat" (1970), died.
   (Reuters, 5/23/19)(Econ, 6/8/19, p.82)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 24, Biographer Edmond
Morris (78) died in Danbury, Conn. His books included "The Rise of
Theodore Roosevelt" (1979), "Theodore Rex" (2001), "Colonel
Roosevelt" (2010) and "Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan" (1999).
   (SFC, 5/28/19, p.C3)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, Charles Reich
(91), law professor and author of "The Greening of America" (1970),
died in San Francisco.
   (SFC, 7/6/19, p.C4)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Toni Morrison (88),
the iconic author known best for her 1987 novel “Beloved,” died in
NYC. Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993,
making her the first black woman to win the award.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Morrison)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Canadian author
Margaret Atwood said a deterioration in women's rights in some parts
of the world including in the United States prompted her to write a
sequel to her best-selling 1985 novel "The Handmaid's Tale".
   (Reuters, 9/10/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Oprah Winfrey
announced the top pick of her popular book club, choosing “The Water
Dancer” by critically acclaimed author Ta-Nehisi Coates, his debut
novel about slavery. Coates won the 2015 National Book Award for
Nonfiction for "Between the World and Me".
   (Reuters, 9/23/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 10, Austrian writer
Peter Handke (76) won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Literature and Polish
author Olga Tokarczuk (57) was named as the 2018 winner after a
sexual assault scandal led to last year's award being postponed.
   (AP, 10/10/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, Author Bernardine
Evaristo (60) won the Booker Prize for her novel "Girl, Woman,
Other." She split the 50,000 pounds ($62,800) prize with Margaret
Atwood, Canadian author of "The Testaments", in a surprise double
award. Of Nigerian and British parentage, Evaristo was the first
black woman to win the prize.
   (Reuters, 10/27/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, Harold Bloom
(b.1930), American literary critic, died at a hospital in
Connecticut. His books included "The Book of J" (1990), "The Western
Canon: Books and School of the Ages" (1994) and "Shakespeare: The
Invention of the Human" (1998).
   (SFC, 10/17/19, p.C4)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 18, A miniature
manuscript written by the teenage Charlotte Bronte returned to her
childhood home in West Yorkshire after it was bought by a British
museum at auction in Paris. The Bronte Parsonage Museum bid 780,000
euros ($862,600) for the unpublished manuscript, written by Bronte
when she was 14 years old.
   (Reuters, 11/18/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 17, Chinese-American
author Da Chen (57) died of lung cancer in southern California. His
books included "Colors of the Mountain" (1999) and "Girl Under a Red
Moon" (2019).
   (SFC, 12/26/19, p.C4)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, The Bosnian
capital Sarajevo declared Nobel Prize-winning Austrian author Peter
Handke "persona non grata" over his support for late Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic and denial of the 1995 genocide in the
Bosnian town of Srebrenica.
   (Reuters, 12/11/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 19, Ward Just
(b.1935), American journalist and novelist, died in Plymouth, Mass.
His books included: "To What End: Report from Vietnam" (1968), "In
the City of Fear"(1982), "Echo House" (1997) and "American Romantic"
(2014).
   (SSFC, 12/22/19, p.B9)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, Author Roger Kahn
(92), perhaps best known for his 1972 best-selling book "The Boys of
Summer," died in New York. The book nostalgically romanticized the
Brooklyn Dodgers of a bygone era.
   (Reuters, 2/7/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, American writer
A.E. Hotchner (102) died at his home in Westport, Conn. His books
included "Papa Hemingway" (1966), "King of the Hill" (1972) and
"Paul and Me" (2008).
   (SFC, 2/17/20, p.C3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, American novelist
Charles Portis (86) died in Little Rock, Ark. His five novels
included the best seller "True Grit" (1968) and "Gringos' (1991).
   (SFC, 2/18/20, p.C1)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Clive Cussler
(b.1931), American author and maritime adventurer, died at his home
in Scottsdale, Arizona. His books reached the New York Times
best-seller list more than 20 times. They included "The
Mediterranean Caper" (1973) and "Raise the Titanic" (1976).
   (SFC, 2/28/20, p.C4)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â May, Charles R. Saunders
(73), copy editor and writer for The Daily News of Halifax, died in
Nova Scotia. Saunders had reimagined the white worlds of Tarzan and
Conan with Black heroes and African mythologies in books that spoke
especially to Black fans eager for more fictional champions with
whom they could identify. His first novel, “Imaro,” was published in
1981.
   (NY Times, 1/21/21)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 16, Charles Webb (81),
author of the novel “The Graduate” (1963), died in East Sussex,
England. The novel was the basis for the hit 1967 film.
   (NY Times, 6/29/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Joanna Cole (75),
author of children's books, died Sioux City, Iowa. She teamed with
the illustrator Bruce Degen to create one of the most popular and
enduring children’s book series of recent decades, the bizarre but
educational adventures chronicled under the rubric “The Magic School
Bus”.
   (NY Times, 7/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Award-winning
Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga (61), a nominee for this year's
Booker Prize, was among scores arrested in Harare during an
anti-government protest. The government had warned that
participation in today's demonstration would be regarded as
insurrection.
   (AP, 7/31/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Winston Groom
(b.1943), author of "Forrest Gump," died in Fairhope, Alabama. His
work included 16 books of fiction and nonfiction. Forrest Gump was
made into a 1994 movie and won six Oscars in 1995.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Groom)(SFC, 9/19/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 18, Charles Yu won the
National Book Award for fiction for his novel “Interior Chinatown.”
Les Payne and Tamara Payne won the nonfiction prize for their
Malcolm X biography, “The Dead Are Arising”.
   (NY Times, 11/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, Douglas Stuart won
the Booker Prize for his autobiographical novel “Shuggie Bain,” the
story of the lonely gay son of an alcoholic mother in 1980s
Scotland.
   (NY Times, 11/20/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 20, Jan Morris,
British author, journalist and transgender movement leader, died in
Wales. A procedure in 1972 permanently altered her body. Her books
included the best-selling memoir "Conundrum" (1974).
   (SSFC, 11/22/20, p.C7)(Econ., 11/28/20, p.82)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 12, John le Carré
(89), the best-selling British author of Cold War spy thrillers,
including “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” died in Cornwall, England.
Graham Greene described le Carré's best-selling novel “The Spy Who
Came in From the Cold” (1963), “the best spy story I have ever read.
   (NY Times, 12/13/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 25, Barry Lopez (75),
award-winning author who focused on the Arctic landscape, died at
his home in Eugene, Oregon. His books included "Of Wolves and Men"
(1978), "Arctic Dreams" (1986) and "Crow and Weasel" (1990).
   (SFC, 12/28/20, p.B3)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Ben Hubbard, a New York
Times journalist, authored "MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed Bin
Salman".
   (Econ, 3/21/20, p.71)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, Ved Mehta (86), a
celebrated blind writer for The New Yorker, died in Manhattan. He
was best known for exploring the history of modern India through 12
volumes of memoir.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ved_Mehta)(NY
Times, 1/10/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Beverly Cleary
(104), the beloved and award-winning author of dozens of children's
books, died in Carmel, California. Her work included eight books on
Ramona between “Beezus and Ramona” in 1955 and “Ramona’s World” in
1999. Others included “Ramona the Pest” and “Ramona and Her Father.”
In 1981, “Ramona and Her Mother” won the National Book Award.
   (AP, 3/27/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Larry McMurtry
(84), an award-winning novelist and screenwriter, died at his home
in Archer city, Texas. His work included Lonesome Dove (1985), the
novel that won him the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as "The
Last Picture Show (1966)" and "Terms of Endearment" (1975).
   (NY Times, 3/27/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, It wasÂ
announced that novelist James McBride, former US poet laureate
Natasha Trethewey and science fiction great Samuel R. Delaney are
among this year's winners of Anisfield-Wolf awards for books that
confront racism and help promote diversity. The Anisfield-Wolf
awards were founded in 1935 and are managed by the nonprofit
Cleveland Foundation.
   (AP, 4/5/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, The American author
John Naisbitt (92) died at his home on Lake Woerthersee, Austria.
His 1982 bestselling book “Megatrends: Ten New Directions
Transforming Our Lives” was published in dozens of countries. He
also founded the Naisbitt China Institute, a research institution
studying the transformation of China and gave many lectures on
future studies.
   (AP, 4/10/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 22, It was reported
that Algerian author Said Djabelkhir (53) has been sentenced to
three years in prison for offending Islam. Mr Djabelkhir has written
two books on Islam in which he suggested that parts of the Quran,
such as the story of Noah's Ark, might not be literally true and
criticized practices including the marriage of young girls in some
Muslim societies.
   (BBC, 4/22/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 27, W.W. Norton said
in a memo to its staff that it will permanently take Blake Bailey’s
biography of Philip Roth out of print, following allegations that
Mr. Bailey sexually assaulted multiple women and behaved
inappropriately toward his students when he was an eighth grade
English teacher. Norton said it is permanently putting out of print
our editions of ‘Philip Roth: The Biography’ and ‘The Splendid
Things We Planned,’ Blake Bailey’s 2014 memoir.
   (NY Times, 4/27/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, Jason Matthews
(69), former CIA employee and author of the "Re Sparrow" (2013) spy
thriller, died. In 2015 and 2018 he published Palace of Treason and
The Kremlin’s Candidate, sequels to Red Sparrow.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Matthews_(novelist))
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 23, Eric Carle (91),
the artist and author who created that creature in his book “The
Very Hungry Caterpillar,” died at his summer studio in Northampton,
Mass.
   (NY Times, 5/27/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, Oprah Winfrey's
next book club pick is a debut novel set in Georgia at the end of
the Civil War: Nathan Harris' “The Sweetness of Water.” Harris (29)
has said he wanted to show what it was like in the South after
slaves were emancipated.
   (AP, 6/15/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 17, Carol Easton (87),
American arts biographer, died at her home in Venice, Ca. Her books
included ""Straight Ahead: The Story of Stan Kenton" (1973), "The
Search for Sam Goldwyn" (1976), "Jacqueline du Pré: A Biography"
(1989) and "No Intermissions: The Life Story of Agnes de Mille"
(1996).
   (SSFC, 7/25/21, p.F7)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Michael Thomas
(85), investment banker, writer and Bête Noire of the Moneyed Class,
died in Brooklyn. His books included "Green Monday (1980), "Someone
Else’s Money" (1982) and "Hanover Place" (1990). As a trustee of the
Robert Lehman Foundation, he helped prepare and publish a scholarly
catalog of Mr. Lehman’s vast art collection at the Met. The catalog
ran to 15 volumes and took several decades to complete.
   (NY Times, 8/15/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, Gary Paulsen (82),
a prolific writer whose young-adult novels like “Hatchet” and
Dogsong” inspired generations of would-be adventurers with tales of
survival, exploration and nature red in tooth and claw, died at his
home in Tularosa, N.M.
   (NY Times, 10/14/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Damon Galgut won
the Booker Prize for “The Promise,” a satirical novel about a white
family in post-apartheid South Africa.
   (NY Times, 11/3/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 1, Miroslav Zikmund
(102), a legendary Czech travel writer, died.
   (AP, 12/2/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, Novelist Anne Rice
(80) died in Rancho Mirage, Ca. Her lush, best-selling gothic tales,
including “Interview With a Vampire” (1976), reinvented the
blood-drinking immortals as tragic antiheroes.
   (AP,
12/12/21)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Rice)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 15, Black writer bell
hooks (69) died at her home in Berea, Ky. She insisted on using all
lowercase letters in her name. Her writing on gender and race helped
push feminism beyond its white, middle-class worldview to include
the voices of Black and working-class women. Her books included
“Ain’t I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism” (1981).
   (NY Times, 12/15/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 17, Eve Babitz (78),
the voluptuous bard of Los Angeles, who wrote with sharp wit and a
connoisseur’s enthusiasm of its outsize characters and sensuous
pleasures and found critical acclaim and a new audience late in
life, died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
   (NY Times, 12/20/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 23, Author Joan Didion
(87) died in NYC. She first emerged as a writer of substance in the
late 1960s as an early practitioner of "new journalism," which
allowed writers to take a narrative, more personalized perspective.
Her 1968 essay collection "Slouching Toward Bethlehem," a title
borrowed from poet William Butler Yeats, looked at the culture of
her native California.
   (Reuters, 12/23/21)
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End of file