John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916December 28, 1986) was an American writer of novels and short stories. He is known for his thrillers. MacDonald was a prolific author of crime and suspense novels, many set in his adopted home of Florida. One of the most successful American novelists of his time, MacDonald sold an estimated 70 million books. His best-known works include the popular and critically acclaimed Travis McGee series and his 1957 novel '' The Executioners'', which was filmed as '' Cape Fear'' (1962) and

remade Bas-Lag is the fictional world in which several of English author China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic (referred to as "thaumaturgy") and steampunk technology exist, and is home to many intelligent races. It is inf ...

in 1991.

Early life

MacDonald was born in

Sharon, Pennsylvania Sharon is a city in western Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city, located along the banks of the Shenango River on the state border with Ohio, is about northeast of Youngstown, about southeast of Cleveland and about northwest o ...

, where his father, Eugene Macdonald, worked for the

Savage Arms Savage Arms is an American gunmaker based in Westfield, Massachusetts, with operations in Canada. Savage makes a variety of rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns. The company is best known for the Mo ...

Corporation. The family relocated to

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

in 1926, his father becoming treasurer of the Utica office of Savage Arms. In 1934, MacDonald was given a choice by his father: spend another year in school as a post-graduate, or go to Europe for several weeks. He chose Europe and this began an interest in travel and photography. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...

, but he quit during his sophomore year. MacDonald worked at menial jobs in New York City, then was admitted to

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, where he met his future wife, Dorothy Prentiss. They married secretly in Pennsylvania in 1937, and had a public ceremony in Utica later that year. He graduated from Syracuse University the next year. The couple had one son, Maynard. In 1939, MacDonald received an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. MacDonald later used his education in business and economics in crafting his fiction. Several of his novels are either set in the business world or involve shady financial or real estate deals. In 1940, MacDonald accepted a direct commission as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

of the

United States Army Ordnance Corps The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia. The broad mission of the Ordnance Corps is to supply Army comb ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served in the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations; this region featured in many of his earlier short stories and novels. He was discharged in September 1945 as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. "Dear Dordo: The World War II Letters of Dorothy and John D. MacDonald" was published by Peppertree Press in 2022. In 1951 he moved his family from Utica, New York to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, eventually settling in

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

Writing career

Early fiction

MacDonald's first published short story, "G-Robot," appeared in the July 1936 ''Double Action Gang'' magazine. Following his 1945 discharge from the army, MacDonald spent four months writing short stories, generating some 800,000 words and losing while typing 14 hours a day, seven days a week. He received hundreds of rejection slips, but "Cash on the Coffin!" appeared in the May 1946

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

''Detective Tales''. He would eventually sell nearly 500 short stories to various mystery and adventure fiction magazines. Selections from MacDonald's early magazine fiction, somewhat revised, were later republished in two collections, ''The Good Old Stuff'' (1982) and ''More Good Old Stuff'' (1984), Starting with ''The Brass Cupcake'' in 1950, McDonald wrote more than forty standalone crime thrillers and domestic dramas, most published as paperback originals and many of them set in Florida. Among them was '' The Executioners'' (1957), which was filmed twice as ''Cape Fear'' and later republished under that title. MacDonald also wrote three science fiction novels, including ''The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything'' (1962), which was filmed for television. After introducing his series character Travis McGee in 1964, MacDonald concentrated mostly on that series, although he did publish four additional standalone novels.

Travis McGee

In 1964, MacDonald published ''

The Deep Blue Good-by ''The Deep Blue Good-by'' is the first of 21 novels in the Travis McGee series by American author John D. MacDonald. Commissioned in 1964 by Fawcett Publications editor Knox Burger, the book establishes for the series an investigative protago ...

'', the first of 21 novels starring

Travis McGee John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916December 28, 1986) was an American writer of novels and short stories. He is known for his thrillers. MacDonald was a prolific author of crime and suspense novels, many set in his adopted home of Florida. On ...

, a self-described "salvage consultant" who recovers stolen property for a fee of 50 percent, and who narrates his adventures in the first person. McGee originally was to be called Dallas McGee, but MacDonald dropped that name after the

Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 un ...

, borrowing instead the name of

Travis Air Force Base Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, Californi ...

. The McGee adventures, each of which has a color in the title, mostly play out in Florida (where McGee lives a hedonistic bachelor life on a houseboat), the Caribbean, or Mexico, and many of them feature his friend and sidekick Meyer, a renowned economist who helps Travis deconstruct elaborate swindles and cases of business corruption.

Death

Following complications of

coronary artery bypass surgery Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage") is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest pai ...

, MacDonald slipped into a coma on December 10, 1986. He died at the age of seventy, on December 28, in St. Mary's Hospital in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He is buried in Poland, New York He was survived by his wife Dorothy (1911-1989) and a son, Maynard.

Media adaptations

*MacDonald's novel ''Soft Touch'' was the basis for the 1961 film ''

Man-Trap ''Man-Trap'' is a 1961 American neo-noir film about a Korean War veteran who becomes involved in a scheme to steal $3.5 million from a Central American dictator. The film was directed by Edmond O'Brien and stars Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen and ...

''. *His 1957 novel ''The Executioners'' was filmed during 1962 as '' Cape Fear'' featuring

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

and

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

directed the 1991 remake of '' Cape Fear'' starring

Robert DeNiro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

and

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...

. Because of the success of the films, ''The Executioners'' has been republished under the ''Cape Fear'' title, even though the novel is set in Florida and does not mention Cape Fear, North Carolina. *His 1963 novel ''The Drowner'' was adapted as an episode of the television series ''

Kraft Suspense Theatre The ''Kraft Suspense Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced and broadcast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for Perry Como's ''Kraft Mu ...

'' entitled "The Deep End," which aired in January 1964. *The novel ''Cry Hard, Cry Fast'' was adapted as a two-part episode of the television series '' Run for Your Life'' during November 1967. *A 1970 film adaptation of the novel ''Darker Than Amber'' was directed by

Robert Clouse Robert Clouse (March 6, 1928 – February 4, 1997) was an American film director and producer, known primarily for his work in the action/adventure and martial arts genres. He died on February 4, 1997, in Oregon of kidney failure. Clouse di ...

from a screenplay by MacDonald and Ed Waters. It featured

Rod Taylor Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including ''The Time Machine'' (1960), ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and ''In ...

as series character Travis McGee with

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...

as his sidekick Meyer. The film lost money, causing producer Jack Reeves to abandon his plans to continue the series. *The novella ''Linda'' was filmed twice for television, in 1973 (with

Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born Estelle Eggleston; October 1, 1938) is a American former actress. She began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as '' Girls! Girls! Girls!'' (1962), '' The Nutty Professor'' (1963), ''The Courtship of ...

in the title role) and in 1993 (with

Virginia Madsen Virginia Gayle Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress and film producer. She made her film debut in ''Class'' (1983), which was filmed in her native Chicago. After she moved to Los Angeles, director David Lynch cast her as Pri ...

). *''The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything'' was adapted for a 1980 TV film. It resulted in a 1981 sequel, '' The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite''. *The 1980 TV film ''

Condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

'', based on MacDonald's novel, featured

Dan Haggerty Daniel Francis Haggerty (November 19, 1942 – January 15, 2016) was an American actor who was best known for playing the title role in the film and television series ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams''. Early life Haggerty's birthplace i ...

and

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...

. *

Sam Elliott Samuel Pack Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Board of Review Award, and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Aw ...

played Travis McGee in the TV adaptation of ''The Empty Copper Sea'', titled ''Travis McGee'' (1983). It relocated McGee to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, eliminating the Florida locales basic to the novel. *The 1984 film ''

A Flash of Green ''A Flash of Green'' is a 1984 American drama film directed by Victor Nuñez. It was first shown at the Toronto Festival of Festivals and New York Film Festival in 1984, then aired on PBS as an episode of ''American Playhouse'' in 1986. It is ba ...

'' featured

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...

Victor Nuñez Victor Nunez (born 1945) is a film director, professor at the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts, Florida State University College of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts, and a founding member of the Independent ...

, who wrote the screenplay and directed the film, was nominated for

Grand Jury Prize A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

at the 1985

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

Influence

Most current Floridian mystery writers acknowledge a debt to MacDonald, including

Randy Wayne White Randy Wayne White (born 1950) is an American writer of crime fiction and non-fiction adventure tales. He has written New York Times best-selling novels and has received awards for his fiction and a television documentary. He is best known for his ...

, James Hall,

Les Standiford Les Standiford is an author and, since 1985, the Founding Director of the Florida International University Creative Writing Program in Miami, Florida. He also holds the Peter Meinke Chair in Creative Writing at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fl ...

, Jonathon King and

Tim Dorsey Tim Dorsey (born January 25, 1961) is an American novelist. He is known for a series starring Serge A. Storms, a mentally disturbed vigilante antihero who rampages across Florida enforcing his own moral code against a variety of low-life criminal ...

. In 1972, the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

bestowed upon MacDonald its highest honor, the Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement and consistent quality.

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

praised MacDonald as "the great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller."

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social an ...

said MacDonald "is by any standards a better writer than

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only wr ...

, only MacDonald writes thrillers and Bellow is a human-heart chap, so guess who wears the top-grade laurels." In a May 2016 ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' interview, author

Nathaniel Philbrick Nathaniel Philbrick (born June 11, 1956) is an American author of history, winner of the National Book Award, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His maritime history, '' In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex,'' which tells ...

said: "I recently discovered John D. MacDonald’s

series. Every time I finish one of those slender books, I tell myself it’s time to take a break and return to the pile on the night stand but then find myself deep into another McGee novel. Before there were

Lee Child James Dover Grant (born 29 October 1954), primarily known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British author who writes thriller novels, and is best known for his ''Jack Reacher'' novel series. The books follow the adventures of a former American ...

and

Carl Hiaasen Carl Hiaasen (; born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and by the late 1970s had begun writing novels in his spare time, both for adults and for young-adult readers. Two of his no ...

, there was MacDonald — as prescient and verbally precise as anyone writing today can possibly hope to be." In the novels, McGee had his lodgings on his

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Most houseboats are not motorized as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. How ...

, the ''Busted Flush'', docked at Slip F-18, marina Bahia Mar,

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. In 1987, the Friends of Libraries U.S.A. installed a "literary landmark plaque" around what would be Slip F-18 in Bahia Mar. After the docks were remodeled, the plaque was moved to the Dockmaster's office.

Bibliography

Travis McGee series

*(1964) ''

'' *(1964) ''

Nightmare in Pink ''Nightmare in Pink'' is the second novel in the Travis McGee series written by John D. MacDonald. It was published concurrently with the first book in the series, ''The Deep Blue Good-by ''The Deep Blue Good-by'' is the first of 21 novels in th ...

'' *(1964) ''

A Purple Place for Dying ''A Purple Place for Dying'' (1964) is the third novel in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. Plot summary McGee is drawn away from his usual haunt of Florida by a job offer from Mona Yeoman, who suspects that her estranged husband ha ...

'' *(1964) ''

The Quick Red Fox ''The Quick Red Fox'' (1964) is the fourth novel in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. In it, McGee is hired to aid a fictitious Hollywood star named Lysa Dean who is being blackmailed with revealing photographs. The ''New York Time ...

'' *(1965) '' A Deadly Shade of Gold'' *(1965) '' Bright Orange for the Shroud'' *(1966) ''

Darker than Amber ''Darker than Amber'' (1966) is the seventh novel in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916December 28, 1986) was an American writer of novels and short stories. He is known for his thrillers. MacDo ...

'' *(1966) ''

One Fearful Yellow Eye ''One Fearful Yellow Eye'' (1966) is the eighth novel in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. The plot revolves around McGee's attempts to aid his longtime friend Glory Doyle in her quest to uncover the truth about her late husband and the ...

'' *(1968) ''

Pale Gray for Guilt ''Pale Gray for Guilt'' (1968) is the ninth novel in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. The plot revolves around McGee's investigation into the death of his close friend Tush Bannon, who he suspects has been murdered because of his refu ...

'' *(1968) '' The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper'' *(1969) '' Dress Her in Indigo'' *(1970) ''

The Long Lavender Look ''The Long Lavender Look'' (1970) is the twelfth novel in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. After the preceding book, '' Dress Her in Indigo'', which was largely set in Mexico, ''The Long Lavender Look'' not only returns to McGee's usu ...

'' *(1971) '' A Tan and Sandy Silence'' *(1973) '' The Scarlet Ruse'' *(1973) '' The Turquoise Lament'' *(1975) '' The Dreadful Lemon Sky'' *(1978) ''

The Empty Copper Sea ''The Empty Copper Sea'' (1978) is the 17th novel in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. In it, McGee looks into the apparent drowning of Hub Lawless in a boating accident. His $2 million insurance policy leads some to believe he has fak ...

'' *(1979) ''

The Green Ripper ''The Green Ripper'' (1979) is a mystery novel by John D. MacDonald, the 18th of 21 in the Travis McGee series. It won a 1980 U.S. National Book Award in the one-year category mystery.Free Fall in Crimson ''Free Fall in Crimson'' (1981) is the nineteenth novel in the Travis McGee John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916December 28, 1986) was an American writer of novels and short stories. He is known for his thrillers. MacDonald was a prolific aut ...

'' *(1982) ''

Cinnamon Skin ''Cinnamon Skin'' (1982) is the twentieth novel in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. Like a few other books in the series, McGee ends up traveling to Mexico to solve a crime. His friend Meyer's niece is killed by a bomb on the ''John ...

'' *(1984) ''The Travis McGee Quiz Book'' (compiled by John Brogan, introduction by MacDonald) *(1985) '' The Lonely Silver Rain''

Non-series novels (excluding science fiction)

*(1950) ''The Brass Cupcake'' *(1951) ''Murder for the Bride'' *(1951) ''Judge Me Not'' *(1951) ''Weep for Me'' *(1952) ''The Damned'' *(1953) ''Dead Low Tide'' *(1953) ''The Neon Jungle'' *(1953) ''Cancel All Our Vows'' *(1954) ''All These Condemned'' *(1954) ''Area of Suspicion'' *(1954) ''Contrary Pleasure'' *(1955) ''A Bullet for Cinderella'' (reprinted as ''On the Make'') *(1956) ''Cry Hard, Cry Fast'' *(1956) ''April Evil'' *(1956) ''Border Town Girl'' (reprinted as ''Five Star Fugitive'')/ ''Linda'' *(1956) ''Murder in the Wind'' (reprinted as ''Hurricane'') *(1956) ''You Live Once'' (reprinted as ''You Kill Me'') *(1957) ''Death Trap'' *(1957) ''The Price of Murder'' *(1957) ''The Empty Trap'' *(1957) ''A Man of Affairs'' *(1957) '' The Executioners ''(reprinted as ''Cape Fear'') *(1958) ''The Deceivers'' *(1958) ''Clemmie'' *(1958) ''Soft Touch'' *(1959) ''Deadly Welcome'' *(1959) ''The Beach Girls'' *(1959) ''Please Write for Details'' *(1959) ''The Crossroads'' *(1960) ''Slam the Big Door'' *(1960) ''The Only Girl in the Game'' *(1960) ''The End of the Night'' *(1961) ''Where is Janice Gantry?'' *(1961) ''One Monday We Killed Them All'' *(1962) ''A Key to the Suite'' *(1962) ''A Flash of Green'' *(1963) ''I Could Go On Singing ''(screenplay novelization) *(1963) ''On the Run'' *(1963) ''The Drowner'' *(1966) '' The Last One Left'' *(1977) ''Condominium'' *(1984) ''One More Sunday'' *(1986) ''Barrier Island''

Anthologies

*(1959) ''The Lethal Sex'' (an anthology of mystery stories by women, edited by MacDonald)

Short story collections

*(1966) ''End of the Tiger and Other Stories'' *(1971) ''S*E*V*E*N'' *(1982) ''The Good Old Stuff'' – A collection of select

short stories from the beginning of his career, with technology and pop culture references frequently updated to bring the stories into the 1980s **"Murder for Money" – ''Detective Tales'', April 1952 as "All That Blood Money Can Buy" **"Death Writes the Answer" – ''New Detective Magazine'', May 1950 as "This One Will Kill You" **"Miranda" – ''Fifteen Mystery Stories'', October 1950 **"They Let Me Live" – ''Doc Savage Magazine'', July–August 1947 **"Breathe No More" – ''Detective Tales'', May 1950 as "Breathe No More, My Lovely" **"Some Hidden Grave" – ''Detective Tales'', September 1950 as "The Lady is a Corpse" **"A Time for Dying" – ''New Detective Magazine'', September 1948 as "Tune In on Station Homicide" **"Noose for a Tigress" – ''Dime Detective'', August 1952 **"Murder in Mind" – ''Mystery Book Magazine'', Winter 1949 **"Check Out at Dawn" – ''Detective Tales'', May 1950 as "Night Watch" **"She Cannot Die" – ''Doc Savage Magazine'', May–June 1948 as "The Tin Suitcase" **"Dead on the Pin" – ''Mystery Book Magazine'', Summer 1950 **"A Trap for the Careless" – ''Detective Tales'', March 1950 *(1983) ''Two'' *(1984) ''More Good Old Stuff'' **Deadly Damsel ("Killing All Men!", ''Black Mask'', March 1949) **State Police Report That... ("You'll Never Escape", ''Dime Detective'', May 1949) **Death for Sale ("My Mission Is Murder", ''Dime Detective'', November 1947) **A Corpse in His Dreams (''Mystery Book Magazine'', Spring 1949) **I Accuse Myself ("The Scarred Hand", ''Doc Savage'', November 1946) **A Place to Live ("Oh, Give Me a Hearse!", ''Dime Detective'', October 1947) **Neighborly Interest ("Killers’ Nest", ''Detective Tales'', February 1949) **The Night Is Over ("You've Got to Be Cold", ''The Shadow'', April–May 1947) **Secret Stain ("Heritage of Hate", ''Black Mask'', July 1949) **Even up the Odds (''Detective Story Magazine'', January 1948) **Verdict ("Three's a Shroud", ''New Detective'', January 1949) **The High Gray Walls of Hate ("The High Walls of Hate", ''Dime Detective'', February 1948) **Unmarried Widow ("A Corpse-Maker Goes Courting", ''Dime Detective'', July 1949) **You Remember Jeanie (''Crack Detective'', May 1949) *(1987) ''The Annex and Other Stories'' – A very limited edition of 350 printed in Finland containing MacDonald's favorite short stories

Science fiction

Two complete science adventure books 1953win n10

*(1951) '' Wine of the Dreamers'' (reprinted as ''Planet of the Dreamers'') *(1952) '' Ballroom of the Skies'' *(1962) ''The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything'' *(1978) '' Other Times, Other Worlds'' (science fiction stories chosen by MacDonald and

Martin H. Greenberg Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 – June 25, 2011) was an American academic and anthologist in many genres, including mysteries and horror, but especially in speculative fiction. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned ov ...

) *(1980) ''

Time and Tomorrow Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' (an omnibus of MacDonald's three science fiction novels)

Non-fiction

*(1965) '' The House Guests'' *(1968) '' No Deadly Drug'' *(1981) '' Nothing Can Go Wrong ''(with Captain John H. Kilpack) n account of the last voyage of one of the last American liners (the SS Mariposa (1931)) before it was sold to a foreign company.] *(1986) ''A Friendship: The Letters of Dan Rowan and John D. MacDonald 1967-1974'' *(1987) ''Reading for Survival''

Notes

External links

*
The Trap of Solid Gold
(in-depth, up-to-date blog created and run by Steve Scott, a researcher and enthusiast of MacDonald's work for over 40 years).
John D. MacDonald Collection at University of Florida
*
Essay: John D. MacDonald and The Only Girl in the Game
by David L. Vineyard.
JDM Homepage; a comprehensive website devoted to MacDonald

at HARD-BOILED site (Comprehensive Bibliographies by Vladimir)
"John D. MacDonald Before Travis McGee, The Travis McGee series made John D. MacDonald famous, but the books he churned out earlier were darker—and better." The Wall Street Journal, September 21-22, 2013Remembering John D MacDonald and His House on Siesta Key
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, John D. 1916 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American novelists United States Army personnel of World War II American mystery writers American science fiction writers Harvard Business School alumni Maritime writers National Book Award winners Edgar Award winners People from Sharon, Pennsylvania People of the Office of Strategic Services Pulp fiction writers Syracuse University alumni United States Army officers Western (genre) writers Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Novelists from Florida Novelists from Pennsylvania American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Military personnel from Pennsylvania