Israel Zangwill was a British writer and humorist who dedicated his life to causes of the oppressed, from women’s suffrage to Jewish emancipation.

Charles Dickens (7 February, 1812 – 9 June, 1870), prolific English author, is known to this day as the quintessential Victorian author.

Norman Mailer (31 January, 1923 – 10 November, 2004) was an American author, journalist, playwright, actor, film maker and political activist.

Edith Wharton (24 January, 1862 – 11 August, 1937) was an award winning American writer and designer.

January 17 is the birthday of one of the most famous man in American History, Benjamin Franklin ( 17 January, 1706 – 17 April, 1790). I read Benjamin Franklin’s Biography by Walter Isaacson a few years ago and it is, to this day, a favorite of mine. Many people know that Mr. Franklin was a printer, but here are a few interesting facts about his printing career and love of books & libraries.

Robinson Jeffers (January 10, 1887 – January 20, 1962) was a poet from California who is considered today an icon of the environmental movement. Jeffers’ was born in Allegheny, PA which is now a part of Pittsburgh. He began to learn Greek at the age of 5. His father, an Old Testament Literature and Biblical History professor at Western Theology Seminary, sent him to study in European schools including at Zurich, Leipzig and Geneva. Most of Jeffers’ poems were written in epic or narrative form. While going to graduate school at the University of Southern California he met his future wife, Una Call Kuster, in a class on Faust. Jeffers’ was admitted to medical school. After his marriage, Jeffers’ moved to Carmel, CA. Jeffers’ didn’t like what has become of the world and how self centered human beings were. Jeffers coined the word inhumanism, the belief that mankind is too self-centered and too indifferent to the “astonishing beauty of things.” During the 1930s and 40s Jeffers’ patriotism was called into question due to references to current events and leading figures. Jeffers’ poems have been translated to many languages but they are most popular in the Czech Republic and Japan. Zohar…

J.R.R. Tolkien (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor. He also wrote some fantasy books as well.

Louis Bromfield (27 December, 1896 – 18 March, 1956) was a prolific American writer and a pioneer of farming concepts.

T.F. Powys (20 December, 1875 – 27 November, 1953) was an English writer and poet.

Ross MacDonald (13 December, 1915 – 11 July, 1983) is an American-Canadian writer which specializes in crime fiction. Most notably Mr. Macdonald is remembered for his hardboiled novels featuring PI Lew Archer. Books by Ross MacDonald Ross MacDonald is a pseudonym, the author’s real name is Kenneth Millar. Macdonald is considered to be on par with Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler for his hardboiled detective novels. The young Millar lived with many Canadian relatives during his most formidable years. This was due to the separation and health of his parents. In his writings, Millar stated he lived in 50 rooms by the time he was 16. A recurring theme in the author’s novels is an absent parent. Millar earned a Ph.D. in literature from the University of Michigan. In 1938 Millar toured Europe and visited Nazi Germany. The person that inspired Millar to start writing was award winner mystery and suspense author Margaret Millar – his wife! During World War II, Millar served in the US Navy as a communications officer in the Pacific aboard an escort carrier. Millar had sever pen names, first it was John Macdonald, then John Ross and finally Ross Macdonald (John D. MacDonald was another…