Glendon Swarthout

Glendon Fred Swarthout (April 8, 1918, near Pinckney, Michigan – September 23, 1992, Scottsdale, Arizona) was an American author and novelist who wrote a great variety of books. Glendon Swarthout was the only child of Fred and Lila Swarthout, a banker and a homemaker. Swarthout is a Dutch name from the area around Groningen, in the Netherlands, and his mother’s maiden name was Chubb, from English farmers out of Yorkshire. Swarthout’s academic car... more

Glendon Fred Swarthout (April 8, 1918, near Pinckney, Michigan – September 23, 1992, Scottsdale, Arizona) was an American author and novelist who wrote a great variety of books. Glendon Swarthout was the only child of Fred and Lila Swarthout, a banker and a homemaker. Swarthout is a Dutch name from the area around Groningen, in the Netherlands, and his mother’s maiden name was Chubb, from English farmers out of Yorkshire. Swarthout’s academic career was stellar, especially in English, and his writing aspirations were encouraged, for he was a high school debate champ. In math, however, he floundered, and only a kindly lady geometry teacher passed him with a D so that he could graduate from Lowell High School. He took accordion lessons and occupied his free time with books, for at 6 feet, 99 pounds, sports weren’t his forte. The summer of his junior year he got a job playing his instrument in the resort town of Charlevoix, on Lake Michigan, with Jerry Schroeder and his Michigan State... less