This site is about J. D. Salinger.

Facts about Salinger:
- Salinger was the son of 'Solomon Salinger' and 'Marie Jilich', both  Jewish. The Family was from Litau.

- In his childhood Salinger lived in a fashionable partment in Manhattan, New York. He usually was called 'Sonny', for whatever reason.

- After prep school, Salinger attended 'Valley Forge Military Academy (1934 - 1936); from 1937 - 1938 he studied at the Ursinus College.

- Salingers most popular book was 'The Catcher in the Rye', which is about Holden Caulfield, a rebellios teenager who gets kicked out of pretty much any school. Salinger was able to identify himself with Holden.

- Salinger's father wanted him to follow in his footsteps as a meat importer, sending his son to Austria to learn the trade. Salinger left Austria just one month before the country fell to Hitler.

- Salinger served in the army during WWII, he was in action on D-Day at Utah Beach, among the first to enter a liberated concentration camp and an interrogated prisoner of war as a counter-intelligence officer.

- The Catcher in the Tye (1951) was at the same time one of the most banend books and also one of the most taught books in the 20. Century

- Holden Caulfield (know from 'The Catcher in the Rye') first appeared in the short story 'Slight Rebellion Off Madison'.

- Salinger has been at varios times a Zen Buddhist, a Christian Scientist, and a Scientologist.

- Salinger began his writing career writing short stories for magazines in New York.

- Salinger was marked by the war emotionally; later he wrote about his experiences with war and during wartime in several books. The most notable of these was 'Esme - With Love and Squalor', which is narrated by a traumatized soldier.

- After Salinger became famous with 'The Catcher in the Rye', he also became more and more lonely. He moved from New York to Cornish, New Hampshire, where he continued to write, but didn't oublish any of his novels. He tried to escape public exposure and attention as much as possible, but he continuously struggled with the unwanted attention he received as a cult figure.

- The most notable of the stories he wrote after the war was 'Esme - With Love and Squalor'. The book (the story) is narrated by a traumatized soldier.

- Salingers most popular book is 'The Catcher in the Rye', which was released in 1951. It became extremely popular amon both critics and the young readers.
Other books by him, like 'Raise High the Roof-Beam, Carpenters and Seymour - An Introduction' (1963) or 'Franny and Zooey' (1961).
He also released more stories, but they were collected in a book called the 'Nine Stories'.

"A writers feelings are anonymity-obscurity are the second most valuable property on loan to him." - J.D. Salinger

- When, in 1986, the British writer Ian Hamilton attempted to publish an autobiography of Salinger, Salinger sued him over privacy and copyright. He (Salinger) won.

- Joyce Maynard, who Salinger had a 1-year long affair in 1972 with, became a source of controversy when she put up his letters for auction. She was 18 years at the time of the affair.


In 2002, more than 80 letters from writers, critics, and fans to Jerome David Salinger were published in the book 'Letters to J.D. Salinger'; the book was edited by Chris Kubica.