Jd salinger autobiography

If he were still alive, JD Salinger, the world’s most famous literary hermit, would surely turn his back on any brouhaha surrounding his centenary in

The Manhattan-born author notoriously went into suburban seclusion in the town of Cornish, New Hampshire, soon after the publication of his best-selling novel The Catcher in the Rye. Throughout the following years he would utter the plea “why can’t my life be my own?”. He also complained bitterly to close friends about the “damn people” who sent him invitations to social events.

“My father hated birthdays, holidays, and pretty much any planned or culturally mandated celebrations, and he’d certainly hate this centennial,” Matt Salinger, the year-old actor who appeared in Revenge of the Nerds and Captain America, told the Associated Press recently. He was commenting after the announcement that the New York Public Library will open a major exhibition in October featuring “manuscripts, letters, books and artefacts from Salinger’s archive”. Little, Brown Book Group are also staging events across America next year to mark the anniversary of the author’s birth on 1 January

When Salinger died on 27 January , aged 91, he was described as “a recluse” in virtually every report. Although he spent much of his adult life trying to avoid interviews, the term is not an accurate description the famous author. Jerome David Salinger, who went by the name Jerry, played up to a loner image. He may have described himself to a friend as “a perennial sad sack”, but he was an active socialite as a youngster (frequenting the glitzy Stork Club in New York) and even toyed with the idea of becoming an actor.

In , after leaving a creative writing course at Columbia University, he worked for three weeks as the entertainment director of the cruise liner MS Kungsholm. In that role, Salinger was responsible for helping to make sure the 1, passengers sailing round the West Indies

American writer (–)

Jerome David Salinger (SAL-in-jər; January 1, – January 27, ) was an American author best known for his novel The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger published several short stories in Story magazine in , before serving in World War II. In , his critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" appeared in The New Yorker, which published much of his later work.

The Catcher in the Rye () was an immediate popular success; Salinger's depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence was influential, especially among adolescent readers. The novel was widely read and controversial, and its success led to public attention and scrutiny. Salinger became reclusive, publishing less frequently. He followed Catcher with a short story collection, Nine Stories (); Franny and Zooey (), a volume containing a novella and a short story; and a volume containing two novellas, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (). Salinger's last published work, the novella Hapworth 16, , appeared in The New Yorker on June 19,

Afterward, Salinger struggled with unwanted attention, including a legal battle in the s with biographer Ian Hamilton and the release in the late s of memoirs written by two people close to him: Joyce Maynard, an ex-lover; and his daughter, Margaret Salinger.

Early life

Jerome David Salinger was born in Manhattan, New York, on January 1, His father, Sol Salinger, traded in Kosher cheese, and was from a family of Lithuanian-Jewish descent from Russian Empire. Sol's father was the rabbi for Adath Jeshurun Congregation in Louisville, Kentucky.

Salinger's mother, Marie (née Jillich), was born in Atlantic, Iowa, of German, Irish, and Scottish descent, "but changed her first name to Miriam to appease her in-laws" an

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Who Was J.D. Salinger?

J.D. Salinger was a literary giant despite his slim body of work and reclusive lifestyle. His landmark novel, The Catcher in the Rye, set a new course for literature in post-WWII America and vaulted Salinger to the heights of literary fame. Despite his slim body of work and reclusive lifestyle, Salinger was one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. His short stories, many of which appeared in The New Yorker, inspired the early careers of writers such as Phillip Roth, John Updike and Harold Brodkey. In , Salinger moved from New York City and led a secluded life, only publishing one new story before his death.

Early Life

Writer Jerome David Salinger was born on January 1, , in New York, New York. Salinger was the youngest of two children born to Sol Salinger, the son of a rabbi who ran a thriving cheese and ham import business, and Miriam, Sol's Scottish-born wife. At a time when mixed marriages of this sort were looked at with disdain from all corners of society, Miriam's non-Jewish background was so well hidden that it was only after his bar mitzvah at the age of 14 that Salinger learned of his mother's roots.

Despite his apparent intellect, Salinger—or Sonny as he was known as child—wasn't much of a student. After flunking out of the McBurney School near his home in New York's Upper West Side, he was shipped off by his parents to Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

Aspiring Writer

After graduating from Valley Forge, Salinger returned to his hometown for one year to attend New York University before heading off to Europe, flush with some cash and encouragement from his father to learn another language and learn more about the import business. But Salinger, who spent the bulk of his five months overseas in Vienna, paid closer attention to language than business.

Upon returning home, he made another attempt at college, this time at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, bef

Salinger is a New York Times best-selling biography by David Shields and Shane Salerno published by Simon & Schuster in September The book is an oral biographical portrait of reclusive American author J. D. Salinger. It explores Salinger's life, with emphasis on his military service in World War II, his post-traumatic stress disorder, his subsequent writing career, his retreat from fame, his religious beliefs and his relationships with teenage girls.

Salinger debuted at #6 on the New York Times bestsellers list and stayed on the list for three weeks. It was #1 on the Los Angeles Times bestsellers list. Additionally, Salinger was named to the bestsellers lists for NPR, Independent Booksellers, and Barnes & Noble. It was named the Amazon Best Book of the Month in September , received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly, and was chosen as a Book of the Month Club Selection and the History Book Club Selection for September

The accompanying documentary Salinger was featured as the th episode of American Masters on PBS.

Background

On January 29, , The New York Times announced Simon & Schuster acquired the biography. Jonathan Karp, the publisher at Simon & Schuster, stated: "We are honored to be the publisher of what we believe will be the foundational book on one of the most beloved and most puzzling figures of the 20th century. Many of us who read The Catcher in the Rye have, at some point in our lives, wished we could know the author better. Now, we finally can."

Salinger is the 17th book by David Shields and the first book by author, screenwriter, and producer Shane Salerno. Salerno's interest in Salinger began when, as a child, he read all of Salinger's published work and learned that the author had retreated from public life to l