Michael Shaara

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1928, he was the son of Italian immigrants and studied at Rutgers University before building a writing career. Early on, he published numerous short stories, including science fiction, and later taught literature at Florida State University.

His most celebrated book, The Killer Angels (1974), grew out of a long fascination with the Civil War and became the work most closely associated with his name. The novel won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and remains widely read for its clear, dramatic portrait of the Battle of Gettysburg.

He died in 1988. His literary legacy continued through his family as well: his children, Jeff Shaara and Lila Shaara, also became novelists.