Willi Heinrich

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Willi Heinrich (August 9, 1920 - July 12, 2005) was a German author.

[edit] Biography

Born in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, he served in World War Two on the Eastern Front, in the 1st Battalion 228th Jager Regiment, part of the 101st Jager Division. This is also the unit in which the characters of his most famous novel, Cross of Iron serve. This division took casualties equal to 700% of its original strength during the war, and Heinrich was wounded a total of five times.

After the war, Heinrich became an author. His first attempt at a novel - In einem Schloss zu wohnen - was written between 1950 and 1952, but would not be published until 1976, when he had already made his name. His first sold novel, Das Geduldige Fleisch (The Willing Flesh), was published in 1955. It was almost immediately translated into English and published by Bobbs-Merrill the following year. This has remained in print for many years, in many editions, and was turned into a film starring James Coburn in 1977 by Sam Peckinpah, titled Cross of Iron All subsequent English-language editions of the novel have gone by this title.

Though he had started with war books, Heinrich's output soon changed to become soapy, sexy potboilers of the type vastly popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Most of his books are novels, but 1985's Erzählungen is an anthology comprising the three novellas, "Die Freundinnen", "Fata Morgana" and "Harte Bandagen". Heinrich's last book, Der Gesang Der Sirenen, was published in 1994, since when he has been living retired.

He died in Dobel, near Karlsruhe.

[edit] Bibliography

Das geduldige Fleisch (1955 - English editions: The Willing Flesh , 1956, and Cross Of Iron, 1977)
Der Goldene Tisch (1956 - English edition: The Mark Of Shame, 1957)
Die Gezeichneten (1958 - English edition: The Savage Mountain, 1958)
Alte Häuser sterben nicht (1960)
Gottes zweite Garnitur (1962 - English edition: The Crumbling Fortress, 1963)
Ferien im Jenseits (1964)
Maiglöckchen oder ähnlich (1965)
Mittlere Reife (1966)
Geometrie einer Ehe (1967)
Schmetterlinge weinen nicht (1967)
Jahre wie Tau (1971)
So long, Archie (1972)
Liebe und was sonst noch zählt (1974 - English edition: Rape Of Honour, 1974)
Ein Handvoll Himmel (1976)
In einem Schloß zu wohnen (1976)
Ein Mann ist immer unterwegs (1978)
Herzbube & Mädchen (1980)
Allein gegen Palermo (1981)
Vermögen vorhanden (1982)
Traumvogel (1983)
Männer zum Wegwerfen (1985)
Erzählungen (1985, anthology of three novellas: "Fata Morgana", "Die Freundinnen", "Harte Bandagen")
Die Verführung (1986)
Zeit der Nymphen (1987)
Der Väter Ruhm (1988)
Der Reisende der Nacht (1989)
Eine spanische Affäre (1990)
Ein Herz für Frauen (1992)
Puppenspiele (1993)
Der Gesang der Sirenen (1994)