Shelby Foote (17 November, 1916 – 27 June, 2005) was an American historian and novelist known for his landmark work on the American Civil War.

John P. Marquand (10 November, 1893 – 15 July, 1960 was an American writer and Pulitzer Prize winner. He is known for his spy stories featuring Mr. Moto. Books by John P. Marquand* 1) Mr. Marquand was born in Wilmington, DE but grew up in the Massachusetts. 2) He was the great-nephew of Margaret Fuller, a writer from the early 1800s who was an early advocate of women’s rights. She wrote the Woman in the Nineteenth Century which is considered the first major feminist work in the United States. 3) Mr. Marquand went to Newburyport High School in Massachusetts, living in town with his aunt in a crumbling mansion. 4) In high school, the future author was awarded a scholarship which allowed him attend Harvard College. 5) As a graduate of the public school system, he was an outsider during his college years. He was turned down by the Harvard Crimson, the college paper, but was on the editorial board for the Harvard Lampoon. After college he was hired by The Boston Evening Transcript. 6) During World War I, while in college, Mr. Marquand joined the Massachusetts National Guard, Battery A. 7) Mr. Marquand’s writings focused on American society and the class dilemma of New England. A satire of Boston’s…

Gustaf Tenggren (3 November, 1896 – 9 April, 1970) was an illustrator born in Sweden, but lived most of his life in the United States. 1) Born in Sweden, Mr. Tenggren got a painting scholarship to the art school in Gothenburg. 2) He was a successful illustrator specializing in Swedish folklore and fairy tales. 3) By 1920, after a successful first exhibition, Mr. Tenggren moved to Cleveland, Ohio with his sister. In 1922 he moved to New York City. 4) The early 1920s were the heyday of illustrated books and the talented Mr. Tenggren’s work was already appearing in published books. 5) He also did a lot of advertising work until the great depression. 6) In 1936, Mr. Tenggren was hired by Walt Disney Productions as chief illustrator on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 7) As a concept artist he worked closely with the animators. He also illustrated many of the tie-ins to the film such as the serialized version of Snow White which was featured in two successive issues of Good Housekeeping Magazine before the film was released. He also worked on Bambi, Pinocchio, The Ugly Duckling and The Old Mill (backgrounds on the last two). 8) After…

Dylan Thomas (27 October, 1914 – 9 November, 1953) was a Welsh writer who is mainly known as a poet, including the famous “Do not go gentle into that good night”. Books by Dylan Thomas* 1) Born in Swansea, Wales as Dylan Marlais Thomas, he was an average student until the age of 16, when he left school to become a journalist. 2) The poet’s father was an teacher and called his son Dylan after the character Dylan ail Don, a character in The Mabinogion (12th – 13th century prose stories written in Middle Welsh). 3) During his time as a freelance journalist, Mr. Thomas wrote 200 poems (1930 – 1934). Of his 90 published poems, half were from that time. 4) He published many of his works while still in his teens. In 1934, the publication of “Light breaks where no sun shines” granted him literary attention. 5) Dylan Thomas married Caitlin Macnamara in 1937. Their relationship, defined and fueled by alcoholism, was mutually destructive. 6) Mr. Thomas was not able to join the British Army during World War II due to health issues., he fought to be classified as “grade III”, meaning he’ll be of the last ones to be called for service. He did however write scripts…

Art Buchwald (20 October, 1925 – 17 January, 2007) was an American writer best known for his humorist column in the Washington Post, which was syndicated in many other newspapers and a published more than 30 books. Books by Art Buchwald* 1) Mr. Buchwald was born in New York City and had a pretty rough childhood. The family’s curtain manufacturing business failed during the Great Depression and he was put in the Hebrew Orphan Asylum before moving through several foster homes. 2) The family eventually reunited but it seemed that the young man still had a tough time, he ran away from home at age 17, never finishing high-school. 3) He wanted join the Marines when World War II started, but was too young. Never to be underestimated, he bribed a drunk with half a pint of whiskey to sign as his legal guardian. He served for three years, two of them in the Pacific and was honorably discharged as a sergeant. 4) Even though he didn’t have a high school diploma, Mr. Buchwald was still enrolled in the University of Southern California, Los Angeles upon his return from the war on the G.I. Bill. Because he had not graduated high school he was…

By the age of 19, Mr. Richter was already working as the editor of a weekly newspaper. Among his other jobs were a private secretary, jobs in publishing, starting a magazine for young people and as a screen writer for MGM.

Thor Heyerdahl (6 October, 1914 – 18 April, 2002) was a noted Norwegian adventurer who authored more than 10 books. Books by Thor Heyerdahl* 1) He was the son of a master brewer and showed great interest in zoology from an early age, even creating a museum in his childhood home. 2) He studied zoology and geography at the University of Oslo, while at the same time privately studying the Polynesian culture and history. The world’s largest private collection of books and papers on Polynesia was owned by a wealthy merchant in town named Bjarne Kroepelien and was available to the young student. The collection is now a part of the the University of Oslo Library) 3) He served in the Free Norwegian Forces from 1944, after Nazi Germany left. 4) In his Kon-Tiki expedition, Mr. Heyerdahl and his crew sailed 8,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean on a hand built raft. Out of the 1948 adventure, Mr. Heyerdahl published his book The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas (Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen, also known as Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft). 5) The 1955-1956 expedition to Easter Island also produced a book, Easter Island: The Mystery Solved(1989), in which Mr. Heyerdahl claimed the island was colonized by the South American people…

Today is the birthday of one of the greatest authors in history: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (29 September 1547 – 23 April 1616. As you can tell, I am a fan. Not only because of the Quixotic pun of this blog’s name, but also because I think that Don Quixote is still one the most relevant stories in the world. “The pen is the language of the soul; as the concepts that in it are generated, such will be its writings.” Miguel de Cervantes 1 ) Very little is known about Cervantes’ early childhood, however we do know that he was a favorite student of Madrid humanist Juan Lopez. 2 ) In 1569, while living in Rome, Cervantes enlisted in the Spanish fleet to fight against the Turks. He suffered injury at the Battle of Lepanto (1571) which ended his aspirations for military glory. 3 ) On his way home from the war (1575) Miguel and his brother Roderigo were captured by Barbary pirates and became slaves until their ransom was paid five years later. 4 ) Returning to Madrid, Cervantes started writing. Even though he is thought to have written as many as 30 plays, only two survived today. 5 ) Cervantes…

On this day in 1598 Ben Johnson, an English playwright, was indicted for manslaughter. Mr. Johnson was a bona fide celebrity in 17th Century England, being admired by writers and socialites. 1) Ben Johnson was educated at the Westminster school by excellent teachers and scholars. 2) Mr. Johnson’s father was a master bricklayer, a good occupation. Ben tried to follow his father’s footsteps but jointed the army. 3) As a soldier, in Flanders, Ben Johnson killed a man in single combat. 4) By 1594 Ben Johnson was back in England acting and writing plays. 5) In 1598 he had a dual with another actor and killed him. Ben Johnson was arrested. 6) The playwright was almost hanged, but because he could read and write he claimed “benefit of clergy”, which got him a more lenient sentence. 7) Mr. Johnson was jailed two more times, but for his writing. It didn’t help that he converted to Catholicism which made him suspicious. 8) Nevertheless, Mr. Johnson became a successful playwright. 9) The 1598 comedy, Every Man in His Humor, featured a young friend, named William Shakespeare in a major role (at the time Johnson and Shakespeare were equally famous). 10) Mr. Johnson was so admired that young writers called themselves “sons of Ben”. Zohar…

James Fenimore Cooper (15 September, 1789 – 14 September, 1851) was a popular American writer who is best known for his Leatherstocking Tales featuring Natty Bumppo. Books by James Fenimore Cooper* 1) Mr. Cooper was born in Burlington, NJ. He was the eleventh of 12 children. 2) In 1790 the family moved to upstate New York by Otsego Lake. The area would later be known as Cooperstown, NY. 3) At age 13 the author was enrolled in Yale University. In his third year, Mr. Cooper was expelled without completing his degree due to some stunts he pulled (blowing up a student’s door and locking a donkey in the recitation room among them). 4) Mr. Cooper went on the US Navy (a fledgling outfit at the time) and became a midshipman. The officer’s warrant confirming his rank was signed by Thomas Jefferson. Later in life he published The History of the Navy of the United States of America (1839), after 14 years of research. 5) After his father’s death, young James Cooper found himself a man of means and married the wealthy Susan Augusta de Lancey. The couple had seven kids, five of whom lived to adulthood. 6) The first novel Precaution (1820) was written because Mrs. Cooper bet her husband that he could…