# Michael Shaara

## Biography

Michael Shaara was an American author, born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on June 23, 1928, to Italian immigrant parents. After graduating from Rutgers University in 1951, he served in the 82nd Airborne Division and worked variously as a merchant seaman, amateur boxer, and police officer before dedicating himself to writing. Shaara began his career penning numerous award-winning science fiction short stories in the 1950s. He later became a professor of English and creative writing at Florida State University.

His most celebrated work, "The Killer Angels," a historical novel about the Battle of Gettysburg, earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. Despite suffering a major heart attack at age thirty-six, Shaara continued to write, publishing other novels like "The Broken Place" and "The Noah Conspiracy." His final novel, "For Love of the Game," was released posthumously. Michael Shaara passed away on May 5, 1988, at the age of fifty-nine. His legacy lives on through his impactful historical fiction and the Michael Shaara Award established by his son, Jeffrey Shaara.

## Books

- [Man of Distinction](https://samolit.com/books/96369)
- [Citizen Jell](https://samolit.com/books/96232)