Michael Shaara (June 23, 1928 – May 5, 1988) was an American author of science fiction,

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

fiction, and

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ...

. He was born to an Italian immigrant father (the family name was originally spelled Sciarra, which in Italian is pronounced in a similar way) in

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark, New Jersey, Newark.

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, graduated in 1951 from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...

, where he joined

Theta Chi Theta Chi () is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 at Norwich University then-located in Norwich, Vermont, and has initiated more than 200,000 members and currently has over 8,700 collegiate members across No ...

, and served as a sergeant in the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from thor ...

prior to the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. Before Shaara began selling science fiction stories to fiction magazines during the 1950s, he was an amateur boxer and police officer. The stress combined with cigarette smoking led to a heart attack at the early age of 36. He managed to recover completely and later taught literature at Florida State University while continuing to write fiction. His novel about the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of th ...

, ''

The Killer Angels ''The Killer Angels'' is a 1974 historical novel by Michael Shaara that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. The book depicts the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, and the days leading up to it ...

'', won the

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. Shaara died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

in 1988 at the age of 59. Shaara's children, Jeffrey and Lila, are also novelists. In 1997, Jeffrey Shaara established the annual ''

Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction The Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction is an annual literary award awarded to the writer of a work of fiction related to the American Civil War. The award was started by Jeffrey ("Jeff") Shaara, (b. 1952), and named for his f ...

'', awarded at

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women ...

Works

Novels

*'' The Broken Place'' (1968) *''

'' (1974), Winner of the

. Later, used as the basis for the film '' Gettysburg''. *''

The Noah Conspiracy ''The Noah Conspiracy'' is a 1981 novel by American writer Michael Shaara, first published as ''The Herald''. It is a science fiction story about the fate of mankind, in which millions are dying, and one man must choose between saving mankind o ...

'' (1981), also known as ''The Herald''. *'' For Love of the Game'' (1991), made into a film in 1999.

Short story collections

*''Soldier Boy'' (1982)

Short stories

*"Orphans of the Void" (1952) *"All the Way Back" (1952) *"Grenville's Planet" (1952) *"Be Fruitful and Multiply" (1952) *"

Soldier Boy Soldier Boy is the name of three superhero characters in the comic book series '' Herogasm'' and ''The Boys'', created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The first character introduced (the second successor to the mantle, made by Vought alon ...

" (1953) *"The Book" (1953) *"The Sling and the Stone" (1954) *"Wainer" (1954) *"The Holes" (1954) *"Time Payment" (1954) *"Beast in the House" (1954) *"The Vanisher" (1954) *"Come to My Party" (1956) *"Man of Distinction" (1956) *"Conquest Over Time" (1956) *"2066: Election Day" (1956) *"Four-Billion Dollar Door" (1956) *"Death of a Hunter" (1957) *"The Peeping Tom Patrol" (1958) *"The Lovely House" (1958) * "Citizen Jell" (1959) *"Opening Up Slowly" (1973) *"Border Incident" (1976) *"Starface" (1982) *"The Dark Angel" (1982)

References

External links

*
Analysis of ''Soldier Boy''Biography at jeffshaara.comMichael Shaara prize details
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaara, Michael 1928 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American writers of Italian descent American science fiction writers American historical novelists Writers from Jersey City, New Jersey Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners Rutgers University alumni Novelists from New Jersey Florida State University faculty American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Florida