A Biography of American Novelist Tim O'Brien (b. 1946)

FAIN: FEL-268091-20

Alex Vernon
Hendrix College (Conway, AR 72032-3080)

Completion of a biography of Tim O’Brien (b. 1946), American writer and literary documentarian of the Vietnam War.

"Tim O’Brien: A Life" will be the first major biography of the most influential literary witness of the war in Vietnam, and one of the most significant writers of his generation. Beyond the archives, the research involves exclusive access to a wealth of primary sources, to documents as well as people, including Tim O’Brien himself. O’Brien’s ongoing popularity and canonical status demonstrate the need and interest. The fact that his work often plays with the fiction and nonfiction divide further piques readers’ and scholars’ curiosity. During this current moment of collective retrospection about his war, a biography of the war’s most prominent creative chronicler will also help take stock of the war’s literary history and cultural legacy. "Tim O’Brien: A Life" will be written for scholars, students, and non-academic readers. This approach fits the goals of 'Standing Together: The Humanities and the Experience of War,' NEH’s ongoing initiative to foster dialogue about war and veterans.

Media Coverage

Vietnam Made Him a Writer. His Anger Still Burns on the Page. (Review)
Author(s): Scott Anderson
Publication: New York Times
Date: 7/6/2025
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/books/review/peace-is-a-shy-thing-alex-vernon.html

Associated Products

Peace Is a Shy Thing: The Life and Art of Tim O'Brien (Book)
Title: Peace Is a Shy Thing: The Life and Art of Tim O'Brien
Author: Alex Vernon
Abstract: This meticulously researched biography explores the life and journey that turned O’Brien into a literary icon and a household name. It includes an unpublished short story about O'Brien from a college girlfriend, documentation of his comical involvement with the Washington Post's coverage of Watergate, and a 1989 attic exchange between American and Vietnamese writers on the eve of the publication of O'Brien's most beloved book, The Things They Carried, years before the two countries normalized relations. Peace is a Shy Thing is as much a history of the era as it is a story of O'Brien's life, from his small-town midwestern mid-century childhood, to winning the National Book Award and his status as literary elder statesman. A story which Vernon, a combat veteran of the Persian Gulf War and a literary scholar trained by officers and professors of the Vietnam era, is uniquely suited to tell.
Year: 2025
Primary URL: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250358493/peaceisashything/
Primary URL Description: Publisher's link.
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9781250358493
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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