Mitchell A. Wilson (July 17, 1913 in New York - February 25, 1973) was an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Life and career

Before becoming a writer, Wilson was a research scientist (for a time as an assistant to

Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi (; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian and naturalized American physicist, renowned for being the creator of the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1, and a member of the Manhattan Project ...

) and instructor in physics at the university level. Science, invention, and the ethical problems of modern atomic science are the subjects for some of his works. He also wrote non-fiction on scientific matters for the general reader. At the height of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, he was considered a major novelist in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, while in his native United States his reputation was considerably less elevated. His novels include '' Live with Lightning'', '' Meeting at a Far Meridian'', and '' My Brother, My Enemy''. A 1945 novel ''None So Blind'' was adapted for the 1947 film The Woman on the Beach directed by

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...

. His non-fiction includes '' American science and Invention, a Pictorial History'' and '' Passion to Know''. At the start of his career, he collaborated on a mystery novel ''The Goose is Cooked'' with

Abraham Polonsky Abraham Lincoln Polonsky (December 5, 1910 – October 26, 1999) was an American film director, screenwriter, essayist and novelist. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for '' Body and Soul'' (1947). The following ...

, written under the joint pseudonym of Emmett Hogarth. At the time of his death, Wilson was married to acting coach

Stella Adler Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher. A member of Yiddish Theater's Adler dynasty, Adler began acting at a young age. She shifted to producing, directing, and teaching, founding the ...

. His first marriage was to Helen Weinberg Wilson which produced two daughters: Erica Silverman, a literary agent, and

Victoria Wilson Victoria "Vicky" Wilson (born 1949) is an American publishing executive and writer who served on the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) from 2000 through 2001. Early and personal life Wilson was born in New York City and grew up ...

, editor and publisher at

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

Books

NON-FICTION *''American Science and Invention: A Pictorial History'' (1954) *''The Human Body: What It Is and How It Works''(1959) *''The Body in Action: The Parts of the Body and How They Work'' (1962) *''Energy'' (1963) (Series: LIFE Science Library) *''Passion to know: The scientists of today's world, who they are, what they are doing, and why!'' (1972) FICTION *''The Goose is Cooked'' (1940) (with

as Emmett Hogarth) *''Footsteps Behind Her'' (1942) *''Stalk the Hunter'' (1945) *''None So Blind'' (1945) *''The Panic Stricken'' (1946) *''Live With Lightning'' (1949) *''My Brother, My Enemy'' (1952) *''The Lovers'' (1954)' *''Meeting at a Far Meridian'' (1961) *''The Huntress'' (1966)

References

*'' Oxford Companion to American Literature'' *''

American National Biography The ''American National Biography'' (ANB) is a 24-volume biographical encyclopedia set that contains about 17,400 entries and 20 million words, first published in 1999 by Oxford University Press under the auspices of the American Council of Lea ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Mitchell A. 20th-century American novelists American male novelists 1913 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American male writers