Tim O'Brien (author)
Tim O'Brien (born October 1, 1946) is an American writer. He was a soldier in the U. S. Army from 1968 until 1970. He fought in the Vietnam War. His time in that war plays an important part in his writing. His novel Going after Cacciato is about the search for a soldier who runs away from the war. It won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1979.[1]
Tim O'Brien | |
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![]() O'Brien at the 2012 Texas Book Festival | |
Born | William Timothy O'Brien October 1, 1946 Austin, Minnesota, U.S. |
Occupation |
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Nationality | American |
Alma mater |
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Genre | Memoirs, war stories, short stories |
Notable works |
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Years active | 1973–present |
Spouse | Meredith Baker |
Children | Two |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/branch | ![]() |
Years of service | 1968–1970 |
Rank | ![]() |
Unit | 3rd Platoon, Company A, 5th Battalion, 46th Infantry Regiment 198th Infantry Brigade |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Awards | ![]() |
O'Brien graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1968. He was then drafted into the U. S. Army and served in Vietnam as a foot soldier. For his work there, he was given a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He then went to Harvard University from 1970 until 1976. He worked as a reporter for the Washington Post until 1975.[2][3]
In 2010, O'Brien received the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) from Whittier College.[4] In 2012, O'Brien received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation's Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award.[5] In 2013, he was awarded the $100,000 Pritzker Military Library Literature Award.[6]
Books
- If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home (1973)
- Northern Lights (1975)
- Going After Cacciato (1978)
- The Nuclear Age (1985)
- The Things They Carried (1990)
- In the Lake of the Woods (1994)
- Tomcat in Love (1998)
- July, July (2002)
- Dad's Maybe Book (2019)
References
- "National Book Awards 1979". National Book Foundation. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
- "Tim O'Brien : Minnesota Author Biographies : mnhs.org". mnhs.gitlab.io. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
- "O'Brien, Tim (1946–)". Oxford Reference - The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature (2 ed.). 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
- "Honorary Degrees | Whittier College". www.whittier.edu. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
- "2012 – Dayton Literary Peace Prize". Retrieved January 12, 2023.
- "Tim O'Brien | Pritzker Military Museum & Library | Chicago". www.pritzkermilitary.org. Retrieved January 12, 2023.