J. D. Salinger J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger (; January 1, 1919 January 27, 2010) was an American writer known for his widely read novel, "The Catcher in the Rye". Following his early success publishing short stories and "The Catcher in the Rye", Salinger led a very private life for more than a half-century. He published his final original work in 1965 and gave his last interview in 1980. Salinger was raised in Manhattan and began writing short stories while in secondary school. Several were published in "Story" magazine in the early 1940s before he began serving in World War II. In
J. D. Salinger right of fair use. The book was not published. Later, Hamilton published "In Search of J.D. Salinger: A Writing Life (1935–65)", but this book was more about his experience in tracking down information and the copyright fights over the planned biography than about Salinger himself. An unintended consequence of the lawsuit was that many details of Salinger's private life, including that he had spent the last twenty years writing, in his words, "Just a work of fiction ... That's all", became public in the form of court transcripts. Excerpts from his letters were also widely disseminated, most notably a bitter