Peter George
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Peter Bryan George (March 24, 1924 - June 11, 1966) was a British author, most famous for the Cold War thriller novel Red Alert – pen name, Peter Bryant.
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[edit] Life
He was born in Treorchy, Wales, and died in Hastings, East Sussex by suicide. George was deeply committed to nuclear disarmament and had been a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force (RAF).
[edit] Works
His best-known novel, Red Alert was written while a serving RAF officer, (hence the original use of a pseudonym: Peter Bryant - the Bryan being taken from his middle name). Drawn from personal experience, Red Alert was the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's classic film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
Due to interest in nuclear themes sparked by Stanley Kramer's film version of On the Beach in 1959, the film rights to Red Alert were sold that year, only to be handed around until Stanley Kubrick bought them in 1962, reportedly for as little as $3,500.[1]
Peter George in fact wrote the screenplay for the film (in collaboration with Kubrick and Terry Southern), and was displeased with the overall satirical feel of the movie. After the film was released, he wrote a novelization of the screenplay, Dr. Strangelove, and dedicated it to the director.
George later wrote another novel to denounce the use of nuclear weapons, entitled Commander-I. He died in 1966 when he was working on his next novel, Nuclear Survivors.
[edit] Novels
- Red Alert (1958)
- Commander-I
[edit] References
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