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Herman Wouk (1915-2019) was an author and playwright. Wouk is best known for his novel The Caine Mutiny and his reclusive tendencies.
Life[]
Born in May of 1915 in the Bronx, Wouk was born to Jewish immigrants from the Belarus area (which was then a territory of Russia). His family was extremely poor for several years before his father was able to found a successful laundry service. From the age of thirteen, Wouk was educated by his maternal grandfather after said grandfather emigrated from Minsk. This education was largely focused on studying the Talmud.
As a young adult, Wouk had a brief secular phase before he returned to the Jewish faith - which he said was one of the two most important influences on his life and career, the other one being his service in the Navy. Wouk graduated from Manhattan's Townsend Harris High School and studied at Columbia University - where he wrote for a university humour magazine called Jester and gained a Bachelor's Degree. After graduating, he became a radio dramatist - working for comedians such as David Freedman (becoming part of his "Joke Factory") and Fred Allen before starting to write directly for the United States government in exchange for war bonds.
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From "About the Author" sections[]
New York-born Herman Wouk has achieved an unusual degree of international success, even for a best-selling American author. His books have been published in twenty-eight languages - the most recent being Icelandic - and when the People's Republic of China translated The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, he was quickly established as their most popular living foreign novelist. Earlier novels, such as Marjorie Morningstar and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Caine Mutiny, have long been considered world classics, while his one venture into nonfiction, This Is My God, has become a basic guide to the Jewish religion. As a dramatist he has seen The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial become a perennial favorite both here and abroad, and his teleplay of The Winds of War draw the largest audience in television history. He and his wife, Betty Sarah, who is also his literary agent, divide their time between homes in Palm Springs and Georgetown, with frequent sojourns in Israel. His recreation is walking and trail-climbing with his German shepherd dog; his avocation, Judaic study. Usually, however, he is writing, on yellow legal pads, the pages of which are now being filled with the new teleplay of War and Remembrance and the beginning of a new novel. - from the first edition of Inside, Outside
Writing style[]
Wouk's writings were heavily influenced by his Judaic teachings (most notably in Inside, Outside, which is based somewhat on Wouk's own life) and his time in the Navy (most notably in The Caine Mutiny).
Notable works[]
Novels and novellas[]
- Aurora Dawn - Wouk's debut novel and "a raucous satire of Manhattan's high-power elite".
- City Boy - a semi-autobiographical novel similar in tone to the works of Charles Dickens.
- The Caine Mutiny - Wouk's most well-known novel, about a legal mutiny on a Navy ship.
- Marjorie Morningstar - a novel about a young Jewish woman entering into gentile society.
- Slattery's Hurricane - a novel based on the movie of the same name, whose story was penned by Wouk.
- The "Lomokome" Papers - a novella about a voyage to the Moon.
- Youngblood Hawke - a novel about the life of a young author. Based on the life of Thomas Wolfe.
- Don't Stop the Carnival - a comedic novel about an old man travelling to the Caribbean.
- The Winds of War - the first novel in Wouk's duology on World War II.
- War and Remembrance - the second novel in Wouk's duology on World War II.
- Inside, Outside - a family saga about a Russian Jewish family, based on Wouk's own life.
- The Hope - the first novel in Wouk's duology on the formation of Israel as a country.
- The Glory - the second novel in Wouk's duology on the formation of Israel as a country.
- A Hole in Texas - a novel about the hunt for the Higgs Boson.
- The Lawgiver - an epistolary novel about the making of a movie about Moses.
Nonfiction[]
- This Is My God - an examination of Jewish culture and Wouk's faith.
- The Will to Live On
- The Language God Talks
- Sailor and Fiddler - Wouk's memoirs, published after his 100th birthday.
Plays[]
- The Man in the Trenchcoat
- The Traitor
- The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial - an adaptation of The Caine Mutiny
- Nature's Way
Cover gallery[]
See also[]
- Chaim Potok
- Gore Vidal
- John Irving
- Truman Capote
- Ross Lockridge
- Leo Tolstoy
Sources[]
- Wikipedia