James Jones (author)

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James Jones (November 6, 1921 – May 9, 1977) is an American author most famous for his explorations of World War II and its aftermath.

[edit] Life

Jones was born in 1921 in Robinson, Illinois. He served in the US 25th Infantry Division during World War II, and was injured in the Battle of Guadalcanal.

His wartime experiences inspired some of his most famous works. He witnessed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which led to his first novel, From Here to Eternity. He wrote The Thin Red Line about the Battle of Guadalcanal. From Here to Eternity won the National Book Award in 1952. It has been named one of the 100 best novels of the 20th century by the Modern Library.

He assisted in the formation of the Handy Writers' Colony in Marshall, Illinois.

The posthumous publication of his novel Whistle in 1978 saw the completion of his war trilogy (the first parts being From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line), of which he wrote: "It will say just about everything I have ever had to say, or will ever have to say, on the human condition of war and what it means to us, as against what we claim it means to us".

[edit] Bibliography

• From Here to Eternity, (1951) (made into a film in 1953)
• Some Came Running, (1957) (made into a film in 1958)
• The Pistol, (1959)
• The Thin Red Line, (1962) (made into a film in both 1964 and 1998)
• Go to the Widow-Maker, (1967)
• The Ice-Cream Headache and Other Stories, (1968)
• The Merry Month of May, (1971)
• A Touch of Danger, (1973)
• WW II, (1975)
• Whistle, (1978) (completed by Willie Morris)

[edit] External links

• The James Jones Literary Society
• James Jones Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
• 1975 Audio Interview with James Jones - RealAudio
• James Jones on Find-A-Grave
• Read Jones's interview with The Paris Review