| American
author, born in New York City. He graduated from a military academy and
briefly attended two colleges; after his early literary success, he became
a recluse. His most important work, The Catcher in the Rye (1951), established
him as a leading author and is still widely read, especially among adolescents.
The hero of the book, Holden Caulfield, became a prototype of the rebellious
and confused adolescent who discerns the "phoniness" of the
adult world. Other works by Salinger include the short-story collection
Nine Stories (1953), Franny and Zooey (1961), and Raise High the Roof
Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (both 1963). All of these
works of fiction are concerned with the problems of the extremely bright
and overly sensitive children of the Glass family. |