James Hopper

Born in Paris in 1876, he became an American writer whose life crossed several worlds before settling fully into literature. He studied at the University of California, where he was also active in athletics, and he went on to build a career as a novelist, short-story writer, journalist, and war correspondent.

Much of his writing drew on the American West, Hawaii, and the Pacific, giving his work an energetic, traveled feel. He was associated with the literary circle around Jack London and other California writers, and he contributed to magazines as well as publishing books of fiction and nonfiction.

He died in 1956, leaving behind a body of work that reflects an unusually varied life. For listeners coming to him now, part of the appeal is that blend of reporting, adventure, and storytelling from an era when writers often lived as boldly as their characters.