Alumni Authors
With nearly a half-million alumni, it’s hardly a surprise that some will turn out to be authors. While there is no easy way to identify all those who have written books, some standouts have become known to the Penn State University Archives over the years by either donating copies of their books or by making their Penn State association part of their public biography. While excluding alums who became PSU profs takes a lot of books off the table, there’s still many choices. What follows is an eclectic selection of Penn State authors, but one, I hope, that will pique the interests of alumni readers.
David Morrell
Writers of modern fiction run the gamut from the hard-bitten to the surreal. David Morrell ‘67g, ‘70g, came to Penn State from Canada to work with literary scholar Philip Young, but he was also strongly influenced by science fiction master William Tenn (a.k.a. Prof. Philip Klass). Morrell’s debut novel First Blood (1972) introduced the character of John Rambo to the world, although the book was largely set in central Pennsylvania landscapes. Morrell has continued as both literature professor and novelist with popular works including The Brotherhood of the Rose (1984), The Fraternity of the Stone (1985), and The Covenant of the Flame (1991).
Another writer of popular fiction is Paul Levine ’69. The former Daily Collegian editor, trial lawyer, and law professor, has become a successful writer of screenplays and a television producer. His mystery and courtroom novels include: To Speak for the Dead (1990), False Dawn (1993), Flesh & Bones (1997), and Solomon vs. Lord (2005).
David R. Wagoner ’47 is the former chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. This award-winning poet, novelist, and editor has crafted books of poetry, including Traveling Light: Collected and New Poems (1999), Walt Whitman Bathing (1996), and Collected Poems, 1956-1976, which was nominated for the National Book Award in 1977. He’s also written ten novels, including The Escape Artist (1965), which was adapted into a movie by Francis Ford Coppola.
Scranton native William Kotzwinkle attended Penn State Altoona and is well known for the breadth of his writing styles of novels and screenplays. His The Fan Man (1974) was his first major hit, along with Doctor Rat (1976), Fata Morgana (1977), and The Exile (1987). Kotzwinkle has written children’s books, political satire, mysteries, and won awards in the fantasy genre. Probably his best-selling work was the novelization of E.T.,The Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Among non-fiction writers, perhaps the best known to modern alumni would be Vance Packard ’36. A Distinguished Alumnus, Packard crafted a series of social commentaries beginning with The Hidden Persuaders (1957), that exposed the techniques of the advertising business. This was followed by a series of familiar titles including: The Status Seekers (1959) on social class and behavior, The Waste Makers (1960) on planned obsolescence, The Pyramid Climbers (1962) on American managers, The Naked Society (1964) on threats to privacy, and A Nation of Strangers (1973) dealing with highly mobile and rootless Americans.
James Dugan ’37, an Altoona native, came through World War II as a war correspondent and wrote Ploesti: The Great Ground-Air Battle of August 1, 1943 (1962), based on his experiences with the Army Air Corps. He is best known, however, for his work with Jacque Cousteau. He wrote Undersea Explorer: Story of Captain Cousteau (1957) about Cousteau's diving experiences and undersea expeditions.Dugan also edited several of Cousteau's books, wrote other books on diving, including Man under the Sea (1956), The Living Sea (1963), and World beneath the Sea (1967), and helped produce the Cannes and Academy Award-winning documentaries The Silent World (1956) and World Without Sun (1964).
Charles L. Blockson
Charles L. Blockson ’56, has been a lifelong collector of books and related materials documenting the history of African-Americans and the African Diaspora. He has created two major research collections at Penn State and at Temple University. But Blockson is also an author of historical works in the field, including Black Genealogy (1975), The Underground Railroad (1987), and African-Americans in Pennsylvania: a History and Guide (1994).
Influential books of current affairs could be found on all sides of the political spectrum. One would certainly be John A. Stormer’s None Dare Call It Treason (1964). Stormer, another Altoonan, attended Penn State before service in the Korean War. His book, which argued that extensive communist subversion was causing America to lose the Cold War, became a best seller among right wing political tracts. On the opposite side was Victor Marchetti’s co-authored The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence (1974). Marchetti attended Penn State and was recruited into the CIA in 1955. He eventually became disillusioned and resigned. His first work, a novel entitled The Rope Dancer (1971) was an expose of the Agency, but his 1974 work became the center of a landmark court case, which resulted in it becoming the first book in the United States to be censored prior to publication. The storm of protest over the book was one of the factors leading to the creation of the U.S. Senate’s Church Committee which investigated CIA abuses.
Frank C. and John J. Craighead
If these works are too imposing, we might consider Jean Craighead George ’41. With a father who was a U.S. Forest Service entomologist, she was introduced to the wonders of the outdoors at a young age and at Penn State achieved majors in both English and Science. After a number of years as a journalist and artist, she turned to children’s books, focusing on environmental concerns. My Side of the Mountain (1959) established her credits as an author, but Julie of the Wolves (1972) made her famous, as a winner of the American Library Association’s Newberry Medal for children’s literature. Her older brothers, the twins Frank C. and John J. Craighead both ‘39, also became naturalists and authors, with works written both individually and jointly. Examples include Hawks, Owls and Wildlife (1956) by both with illustrations by Jean; Track of the Grizzly (1979) by Frank, and A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers (1978) by both.
Also, for the outdoors lovers, we can’t fail to mention Ed Zern ’32. Zern was an outdoor writer of a different sort, one with an irreverent sense of humor where nothing was sacred. More than thirty years of magazine articles for Field and Stream and others, yielded a treasury of materials. These found their way into his books, which included To Hell with Fishing (1947), How to Catch Fishermen (1951), and Are Fishermen People (1955) among others. All were illustrated by Zern as well as being full of his droll humor.