Jerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980. Raised in Manhattan, Salinger began writing short stories while in secondary school, and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948 he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" in The New Yorker magazine, which became home to much of his subsequent work. In 1951 Salinger released his novel The Catcher in the Rye, an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield was influential, espeJerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980. Raised in Manhattan, Salinger began writing short stories while in secondary school, and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948 he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" in The New Yorker magazine, which became home to much of his subsequent work. In 1951 Salinger released his novel The Catcher in the Rye, an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield was influential, especially among adolescent readers. The novel remains widely read and controversial, selling around 250,000 copies a year.The success of The Catcher in the Rye led to public attention and scrutiny: Salinger became reclusive, publishing new work less frequently. He followed Catcher with a short story collection, Nine Stories (1953), a collection of a novella and a short story, Franny and Zooey (1961), and a collection of two novellas, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963). His last published work, a novella entitled "Hapworth 16, 1924", appeared in The New Yorker on June 19, 1965.Afterward, Salinger struggled with unwanted attention, including a legal battle in the 1980s with biographer Ian Hamilton, and the release in the late 1990s of memoirs written by two people close to him: Joyce Maynard, an ex-lover; and Margaret Salinger, his daughter. In 1996, a small publisher announced a deal with Salinger to publish "Hapworth 16, 1924" in book form, but amid the ensuing publicity, the release was indefinitely delayed. He made headlines around the globe in June 2009, after filing a lawsuit against another writer for copyright infringement resulting from that writer's use of one of Salinger's characters from The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger died of natural causes on January 27, 2010, at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire.

J.D.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.

J.R.R.

Stephen Edwin King is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, and fantasy novels. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, many of which have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, television series, and comic books. King has published 61 novels and six non-fiction books.

Stephen

ERNEST CLINE is a novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. His first novel, Ready Player One, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, appeared on numerous “best of the year” lists, and is set to be adapted into a motion picture by Warner Bros. and director Steven Spielberg. His second novel, ARMADA, debuted at #4 on the NYT Bestseller list and is being made into a film by Universal Pictures. Ernie lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic video games.

Ernest

John Crowley is an American biotechnology executive and entrepreneur and the chairman and CEO of Amicus Therapeutics. He co-founded Novazyme Pharmaceuticals with William Canfield, which was later acquired by Genzyme Corporation, and founded Orexigen Therapeutics.

John

Brendon Burchard is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and "the world's leading high performance coach". His latest book, High Performance Habits, was a Wall Street Journal best-seller and named by Amazon as one of its top three best business and leadership books of 2017.

Brendon

David Raymond Sedaris is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "Santaland Diaries". He published his first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, in 1994.

David

As  A.M. Barnard: Behind a Mask, or a Woman's Power (1866)The Abbot's Ghost, or Maurice Treherne's Temptation (1867)A Long Fatal Love Chase (1866 – first published 1995)First published anonymously:A Modern Mephistopheles (1877)Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832. She and her three sisters, Anna, Elizabeth and May were educated by their father, philosopher/ teacher, Bronson Alcott and raised on the practical Christianity of their mother, Abigail May.Louisa spent her childhood in Boston and in Concord, Massachusetts, where her days were enlightened by visits to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s library, excursions into nature with Henry David Thoreau and theatricals in the barn at Hillside (now Hawthorne’s "WaysideAs  A.M. Barnard: Behind a Mask, or a Woman's Power (1866)The Abbot's Ghost, or Maurice Treherne's Temptation (1867)A Long Fatal Love Chase (1866 – first published 1995)First published anonymously:A Modern Mephistopheles (1877)Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832. She and her three sisters, Anna, Elizabeth and May were educated by their father, philosopher/ teacher, Bronson Alcott and raised on the practical Christianity of their mother, Abigail May.Louisa spent her childhood in Boston and in Concord, Massachusetts, where her days were enlightened by visits to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s library, excursions into nature with Henry David Thoreau and theatricals in the barn at Hillside (now Hawthorne’s "Wayside").Like her character, Jo March in Little Women, young Louisa was a tomboy: "No boy could be my friend till I had beaten him in a race," she claimed, " and no girl if she refused to climb trees, leap fences...."For Louisa, writing was an early passion. She had a rich imagination and often her stories became melodramas that she and her sisters would act out for friends. Louisa preferred to play the "lurid" parts in these plays, "the villains, ghosts, bandits, and disdainful queens."At age 15, troubled by the poverty that plagued her family, she vowed: "I will do something by and by. Don’t care what, teach, sew, act, write, anything to help the family; and I’ll be rich and famous and happy before I die, see if I won’t!"Confronting a society that offered little opportunity to women seeking employment, Louisa determined "...I will make a battering-ram of my head and make my way through this rough and tumble world." Whether as a teacher, seamstress, governess, or household servant, for many years Louisa did any work she could find.Louisa’s career as an author began with poetry and short stories that appeared in popular magazines. In 1854, when she was 22, her first book Flower Fables was published. A milestone along her literary path was Hospital Sketches (1863) based on the letters she had written home from her post as a nurse in Washington, DC as a nurse during the Civil War.When Louisa was 35 years old, her publisher Thomas Niles in Boston asked her to write "a book for girls." Little Women was written at Orchard House from May to July 1868. The novel is based on Louisa and her sisters’ coming of age and is set in Civil War New England. Jo March was the first American juvenile heroine to act from her own individuality; a living, breathing person rather than the idealized stereotype then prevalent in children’s fiction.In all, Louisa published over 30 books and collections of stories. She died on March 6, 1888, only two days after her father, and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord.

Louisa

B.J. Novak is an American actor, writer, comedian, and director. Novak was one of the writers and executive producers of The Office, in which he also played Ryan Howard.

B.J.

Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates is an American author and journalist. Coates gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at The Atlantic, where he wrote about cultural, social, and political issues, particularly regarding African Americans and white supremacy.

Ta-Nehisi

Brian Patrick Herbert is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Herbert.

Frank

Patrick James Rothfuss is an American writer of epic fantasy. He is best known for his ongoing trilogy The Kingkiller Chronicle, which won him several awards, including the 2007 Quill Award for his debut novel, The Name of the Wind. Its sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, topped The New York Times Best Seller list.

Patrick

Alisa Rosenbaum was born in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg to a prosperous Jewish family. When the Bolsheviks requisitioned the pharmacy owned by her father, Fronz, the Rosenbaums fled to the Crimea. Alisa returned to the city (renamed Leningrad) to attend the university, but in 1926 relatives who had already settled in America offered her the chance of joining them there. With money from the sale of her mother's jewelry, Alisa bought a ticket to New York. On arrival at Ellis Island, she changed into Ayn (after a name of some Finnish author, probably "Aino") Rand (which she said was an abbreviation of her Russian surname). She moved swiftly to Hollywood, where she learned English, worked in the RKO wardrobe department and as an extra, andAlisa Rosenbaum was born in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg to a prosperous Jewish family. When the Bolsheviks requisitioned the pharmacy owned by her father, Fronz, the Rosenbaums fled to the Crimea. Alisa returned to the city (renamed Leningrad) to attend the university, but in 1926 relatives who had already settled in America offered her the chance of joining them there. With money from the sale of her mother's jewelry, Alisa bought a ticket to New York. On arrival at Ellis Island, she changed into Ayn (after a name of some Finnish author, probably "Aino") Rand (which she said was an abbreviation of her Russian surname). She moved swiftly to Hollywood, where she learned English, worked in the RKO wardrobe department and as an extra, and wrote through the night on screenplays and novels. She also married a bit-part actor called Frank O'Connor because he was 'beautiful' - and because her original visitor's visa had run out.Rand sold her first screenplay in 1932, but nobody would buy her first novel We the Living (1936) a melodrama set in Russia. Her first real success was The Fountainhead (rejected by more than ten publishers before publication in 1943).She started a new philosophy known as Objectivism, opposed to state interference of all kinds, and her follow-up novel Atlas Shrugged (1957) describes a group who attempt to escape America's conspiracy of mediocrity. Objectivism has been an influence on various other movements such as Libertarianism, and Rand's vocal support for Laissez-faire Capitalism and the free market has earned her a distinct spot among American philosophers, and philosophers in general.---

Jessica Nicole Hische is an American letterer, illustrator, and type designer. She is best known for her personal projects, 'Daily Drop Cap' and the Should I Work for Free flowchart.

Jessica

Cheryl Strayed is an American memoirist, novelist, essayist and podcast host. The author of four books, her award-winning writing has been published widely in anthologies and major magazines.

Cheryl

Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, and playwright best known for his 1954 novel Lord of the Flies. Golding spent two years in Oxford focusing on sciences; however, he changed his educational emphasis to English literature, especially Anglo-Saxon.During World War II, he was part of the Royal Navy which he left five years later. His bellic experience strongly influenced his future novels. Later, he became a teacher and focused on writing. Some of his influences are classical Greek literature, such as Euripides, and The Battle of Maldon, an Anglo-Saxon oeuvre whose author is unknown.The attention given to Lord of the Flies, Golding's first novel, by college students in the 1950s and 1960s drove literary critics' attentionSir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, and playwright best known for his 1954 novel Lord of the Flies. Golding spent two years in Oxford focusing on sciences; however, he changed his educational emphasis to English literature, especially Anglo-Saxon.During World War II, he was part of the Royal Navy which he left five years later. His bellic experience strongly influenced his future novels. Later, he became a teacher and focused on writing. Some of his influences are classical Greek literature, such as Euripides, and The Battle of Maldon, an Anglo-Saxon oeuvre whose author is unknown.The attention given to Lord of the Flies, Golding's first novel, by college students in the 1950s and 1960s drove literary critics' attention to it. He was awarded the Booker Prize for literature in 1980 for his novel Rites of Passage, the first book of the trilogy To the Ends of the Earth. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983 and was knighted in 1988.In 2008, The Times ranked Golding third on their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

William

Philip

Bernie Gunther, protagonist of the Philip Kerr mysteries set in World War II Germany, confronts brutal murder cases head-on in his latest war-torn adventure, A German Requiem.  When Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels asks Bernie to investigate a Soviet atrocity, Bernie agrees because he’s skeptical of his superior officers’ claims that Hitler is winning the war.  Although he struggles with the Prussian military elite, who consider him “rough-edged,” Bernie doggedly pursues the case: first by uncovering the identity of a brutal killer; and then by using this information to save his own life. 

Lewis Cantley is an American cell biologist and biochemist who has made significant advances to the understanding of cancer metabolism.

Lewis

A Man Without Breath

Philip Kerr was a British author. He was best known for his Bernie Gunther series of 13 historical thrillers and a children's series, Children of the Lamp, under the name P.B. Kerr.Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.Philip Kerr was a British author. He was best known for his Bernie Gunther series of 13 historical thrillers and a children's series, Children of the Lamp, under the name P.B. Kerr.Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Former detective Bernie Gunther must infiltrate a brutal world of spies, partisan terrorists, and high-level traitors in order to protect Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich from assassination.  Berlin, 1941.  Bernie is back from the Eastern Front, once again working homicide in Berlins Kripo and answering to Reinhard Heydrich, a man he both detests and fears.  Heydrich has been newly named Reichsprotector of Czechoslovakia.  Tipped off that there is an assassin in his midst, he orders Bernie to join him at his country estate outside Prague, where he has invited some of the Third Reichs most odious officials to celebrate his new appointment.  One of them is the would-be assassin.  Bernie can think of better ways to spend a beautiful autumn weekend; however, as he says, “You don't say no to Heydrich and live!”

Prague Fatale

When Bernie Gunther takes on a blackmail case and gets involved in the affairs of British spies, the former detective risks exposing his own dark past in this thrilling novel hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “one of Kerr’s best. ”Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, 1956.  Having gone into hiding in the French Riviera, Bernie Gunther is working as a concierge at the Grand-Hôtel under a false name.  His days and nights consist of maneuvering drunks to their rooms, shooing away prostitutes in search of trade, and answering the mindless questions posed by the absurdly rich guests—needless to say, he’s miserable.  Now, the man who was once a homicide detective and unwilling SS officer in Hitler’s Third Reich is simply the person you turn to for touring tips or if you need a bridge partner. As it just so happens, a rich and famous writer needs someone to fill the fourth seat in a regular game at the Villa Mauresque.  But Somerset Maugham wants Bernie to help him get out of a game far more dangerous than bridge.  Maugham is being blackmailed—perhaps because of his unorthodox lifestyle, or perhaps because, once upon a time, Maugham worked for the British Secret Service... 

The Other Side of Silence

Historical mystery novel from New York Times best selling author Philip Kerr.  The book, set in 1950’s Buenos Aires, follows a detective who despite having been falsely accused of war crimes and offered a new life in Argentina, is pressured into investigating a murder case.  As the reader goes through each chapter, the author displays immense amounts of action and intrigue as they empathize with the main character Bernie and his relentless search for justice. 

A Quiet Flame

For readers looking to try a new mystery series, Philip Kerr’s historical crime novels are a great place to start.  MARCH VIOLETS, THE PALE CRIMINAL, and GERMAN REQUIEM are the first three books in the Bernie Gunther series—and each offers a unique and intriguing setting.  The writing is superb: “A Chandleresque knight errant caught in insane historical surroundings.  Bernie walks down streets so mean that nobody can stay alive and remain truly clean. ”

Berlin Noir

Philip Kerr's Edgar Award-nominated novel in the New York Times bestselling series reveals the cynical, hard-boiled detective's harrowing history as an unwilling SS officer in World War II.  During his eleven years working homicide in Berlin Kripo, Bernie Gunther learned a thing or two about evil.  Then he set himself up as a private detective—until 1940 when he was drafted into the SS and sent to the Eastern Front.  Spanning twenty-five tumultuous years, Field Gray strides across the killing fields of Europe, landing Bernie in a divided Germany at the height of the Cold War—revealing a treacherous world where no one can be trusted... 

Field Gray

When former Berlin police officer and unwilling SS officer Bernie Gunther’s cover is blown, he embarks on a cat-and-mouse game that continues to shadow his life a decade after Germany’s defeat in World War II.  The French Riviera, 1956: Former Kripo sergeant and adversary Erich Mielke of the East German Stasi has turned up.  He wants Bernie to travel to London to poison a female agent they’ve both had dealings with.  But Bernie isn't keen on assassinating anyone.  In an attempt to dodge his Stasi handler—former Kripo comrade Friedrich Korsch—Bernie bolts for the German border.  Traveling by night and hiding by day, he has plenty of time to recall the last case he and Korsch worked together…Obersalzberg, Bavaria, 1939: A low-level bureaucrat has been found dead at Hitler’s mountaintop retreat in Bavaria. 

Prussian Blue

In this Edgar® Award-nominated novel in Philip Kerr’s New York Times bestselling series, former detective and unwilling SS officer Bernie Gunther is on the hunt for a beautiful femme fatale...  Berlin, 1942.  Three players take the stage.  The first, a gorgeous actress—the rising star of a giant German film company controlled by the Propaganda Ministry.  The second, the very clever, very dangerous Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels—a close confidant of Hitler, ambitious schemer, and flagrant libertine.  Finally, theres Bernie Gunther—a former Berlin homicide bull now forced to run errands at the Propaganda Minister’s command. When Goebbels tasks Bernie with finding the woman the press have dubbed “the German Garbo,” his errand takes him from Zurich to Zagreb to the killing fields of Croatia.  It is there that Bernie finds himself in a world of mindless brutality where everyone has a hidden agenda—perfect territory for a true cynic whose instinct is to trust no one. 

The Lady from Zagreb

New York Times-bestselling author Philip Kerr takes readers to the start of his beloved heroes journey, diving into the origin story of Bernie Gunther.  This is how it all began: in 1928 and under a dozen blood-soaked blankets, in the city at a crossroads and where nothing's against the law.  It is a hellhole, with gangs roaming the streets looking to start a fight, and when daylight comes, people barely able to cope with life after the heavy inflation that followed World War I.  At police headquarters, they are struggling to keep up with a killer who leaves clues but no hints--who seems to be taunting them.  He's left his first corpse behind on Bernie's first day there, and the press have an absolute field day.  There's even talk that he has been made part of their elite Murder Commission because they believe he could have what it takes to be an exceptional detective. 

Metropolis

Bernie Gunther, a former police officer and hesitant SS officer, tries to start over in the aftermath of World War II in the fourth mystery in Philip Kerrs New York Times bestseller series, but rapidly discovers that the past is never far behind you... 1949, Berlin.  Germany is a country of corrupt bargains, excessive greed, and fleeing Nazis amid the turmoil of defeat.  Berlin has gotten just too hazardous for Bernie Gunther.  Bernie has relocated to Munich to rebuild himself as a private investigator after being compelled to serve in the SS in Ukraines killing fields. When a lady hires him to investigate her husbands disappearance, business is slow and his funds are running short.  Hes a war criminal, thus she doesnt want him back.  She simply needs proof that he is no longer alive.  Its a basic job, but nothing in postwar Germany is straightforward—nothing is as it seems.  Accepting the case, Bernie accepts considerably more than he bargained for, and he soon finds himself on the run, surrounded by adversaries on all sides. 

The One from the Other

The tragic murder of a Holocaust survivor leads a former Nazi collaborator to a killer he once investigated in a riveting WWII thriller. In 1956, an old friend in Athens implores Bernie Gunther, who's recently left the police force after receiving an anonymous death threat, to take a job as claims adjuster for an insurance company there.  The job will keep Bernie on the straight and narrow, but his new client is Siegfried Witzel, the brutal former Wehrmacht soldier Bernie once investigated for war crimes.  At first, Witzel's claim seems legitimate: He lost several million dollars in Greece during the war, when he served as an SS officer on an extermination unit that was responsible for shipping hundreds of Jews to concentration camps.  And Witzel insists he wants to obtain restitution—in cash—from the Greek government.  But when Bernie starts digging into Witzel's disappearance from the German army at the end of World War II, he uncovers something far more complex: Because some of Witzel's disappeared soldiers are still alive, including Siegfried himself, their Nazi past threatens their lives if they return home.  And now that one former Wehrmacht soldier has been found dead and another missing under suspicious circumstances. 

Greeks Bearing Gifts

Goldman and Simpson were brutally murdered in a case that captured the attention of the American people. O.  J.  Simpson was tried for the crime but was ultimately found not guilty of criminal charges. The victims' family brought a civil case against Simpson, who was found liable for willfully and wrongfully causing the deaths of Ron and Nicole. It was announced that Simpson had told how he hypothetically would have committed the murders in If I Did It, but the book was canceled due to public outrage over its content. The Goldmans were awarded rights to the book by a Florida bankruptcy court in August 2007 to partially satisfy their unpaid judgment, which has risen to over $38 million with interest since 2006. 

Philip Kerr

Best author’s book

A Man Without Breath

Written books

Prague Fatale

The Other Side of Silence

A Quiet Flame

Berlin Noir

Field Gray

Prussian Blue

The Lady from Zagreb

Metropolis

The One from the Other

Greeks Bearing Gifts

If The Dead Rise Not

A Man Without Breath

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