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

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

Biography

Shaara 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 List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, graduated in 1951 from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, where he joined Theta Chi, and served as a sergeant in the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

prior to the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. 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 Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

while continuing to write fiction. His novel about the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

, '' The Killer Angels'', 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 Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

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'', awarded at

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about ...

Works

Novels

*'' The Broken Place'' (1968) *'' The Killer Angels'' (1974), Winner of the

. Later, used as the basis for the film '' Gettysburg'' in 1993. *'' The Noah Conspiracy'' (1981), also known as ''The Herald''. *'' For Love of the Game'' (1991), made into a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

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" (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