John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916December 28, 1986) was an American writer of novels and short stories. He is known for his thrillers. A prolific author of crime and suspense novels, many set in his adopted home of Florida, he was 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 twice as ''Cape Fear'', once in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

and again in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

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 northwe ...

, where his father, Eugene Macdonald, worked for the

Savage Arms Savage Arms is an American gunmaker based in Westfield, Massachusetts, with operations in Canada and China. Savage makes a variety of Rimfire ammunition, rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns. The comp ...

Corporation. The family relocated to

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

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 ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

, 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, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, 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) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. 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 se ...

of the

United States Army Ordnance Corps The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a Combat service support (United States), sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Gregg-Adams, Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed 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 ...

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. "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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, eventually settling in Sarasota.

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 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...

''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, MacDonald 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 first of 21 novels starring Travis McGee, 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, 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 Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 Kilometre, km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, California, Fairfield, i ...

. 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 Dr. Meyer ("Just 'Meyer', please") 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 ...

, 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 is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. 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''. *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 AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...

and

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

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

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

and

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (; born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. Known for his leading man roles in both dramas and romances, he has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Nol ...

. 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'' 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 dir ...

from a screenplay by MacDonald and Ed Waters. It featured Rod Taylor as series character Travis McGee with

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He made his stage debut in '' Tevye the Milkman'' in Mandatory Palestine, where he lived as ...

as his sidekick Meyer. The film earned positive reviews but 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 Caro Eggleston; October 1, 1938 – February 17, 2023) was an American actress. She was the mother of actor Andrew Stevens. Stevens began her acting career in 1959 in the film ''Say One for Me'', winning the Golden ...

in the title role) and in 1993 (with Virginia Madsen). *''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 regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

'', based on MacDonald's novel, featured Dan Haggerty and

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress and singer, who starred as the title character in the sitcom ''I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965–1970). Her other roles included Roslyn Pierce opposite Elvis Presley in ...

. * Sam Elliott 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 that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, eliminating the Florida locales basic to the novel. *The 1984 film '' A Flash of Green'' 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 Awa ...

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 Fe ...

, who wrote the screenplay and directed the film, was nominated for Grand Jury Prize at the 1985

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. *A planned film of '' The Deep Blue Good-by'' to star

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. List of awards and nominations received by C ...

as Travis McGee was cancelled by Fox in 2015 after Bale sustained a knee injury. It is not known whether the project will be revived.

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, Jonathon King, and Tim Dorsey. In 1972, the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional 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 E ...

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. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

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 crit ...

said MacDonald "is by any standards a better writer than

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915April 5, 2005) was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only write ...

, 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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' interview, author

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

said: "I recently discovered John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee 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 (genre), thriller novels, and is best known for his ''Jack Reacher (book series), Jack Reacher'' novel series. The boo ...

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 middle grade readers. Two of his ...

, 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 for regular dwelling. Most houseboats are not motorized, as they are usually moored or kept stationary, fixed at a Berth (moorings), berth, and often tethered to ...

, 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 most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. 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.

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

wrote and recorded the song "Incommunicado" in 1981 whose 1st verse references both McGee & McDonald, albeit using Cedar Key to rhyme with McGee instead of Bahia Mar.

Bibliography

Travis McGee series

*(1964) '' The Deep Blue Good-by'' *(1964) '' Nightmare in Pink'' *(1964) '' A Purple Place for Dying'' *(1964) '' The Quick Red Fox'' *(1965) '' A Deadly Shade of Gold'' *(1965) '' Bright Orange for the Shroud'' *(1966) '' Darker than Amber'' *(1966) '' One Fearful Yellow Eye'' *(1968) '' Pale Gray for Guilt'' *(1968) '' The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper'' *(1969) '' Dress Her in Indigo'' *(1970) '' The Long Lavender Look'' *(1971) '' A Tan and Sandy Silence'' *(1973) '' The Scarlet Ruse'' *(1973) '' The Turquoise Lament'' *(1975) '' The Dreadful Lemon Sky'' *(1978) '' The Empty Copper Sea'' *(1979) '' The Green Ripper'' *(1981) '' Free Fall in Crimson'' *(1982) '' Cinnamon Skin'' *(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) *(1980) '' Time and Tomorrow'' (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'' *(2022) ''Dear Dordo: The World War II Letters of Dorothy and John D. MacDonald''

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 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 Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Milwaukee)