J.D. Salinger (1919-...)

Brief Biography

J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye and several other short books, is one of the most famous and greatest American authors of the 20th century. He was born Jan. 1, 1919 in New York City to a Jewish father and Christian mother. After attending college for a while, he made writing his life (exempting the time he spent in World War II). In total, Salinger wrote 35 short stories. Then, in 1951, he published his novel The Catcher in the Rye--by far his most popular work. After this, Salinger started writing about the fictional Glass family for his major literary works. The first, published in 1953, was Nine Stories (as you can probably guess, this was a collection of 9 stories), often considered to be some of his finest work. After that, in 1961, he published my favorite, Franny and Zooey, two related short stories which deal with two of the Glass children. His other major publication was another combination of short stories, Raise the High Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (yes yes yes--a lengthy title). Not much is known of his current doings, because he is a very reclusive man, staying tucked away from people. Salinger is one of the most famous and best authors of the 20th century.