James Salter (born June 10, 1925, New York City) is an American writer.
Salter was born James A. Horowitz, the son of a moderately wealthy entrepreneur. He entered West Point in 1942 when class sizes were doubled and the curriculum shortened by war to three years, at the urging of his alumnus father, and graduated in 1945. He was known among classmates as "Horrible" Horowitz. He completed flight training during his first class year, with primary ...
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James Salter (born June 10, 1925, New York City) is an American writer.
Salter was born James A. Horowitz, the son of a moderately wealthy entrepreneur. He entered West Point in 1942 when class sizes were doubled and the curriculum shortened by war to three years, at the urging of his alumnus father, and graduated in 1945. He was known among classmates as "Horrible" Horowitz. He completed flight training during his first class year, with primary flight training at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and advanced training at Stewart Field, New York. On a cross-country navigation flight in May 1945, his flight became scattered, and low on fuel, he mistook a railroad trestle for a runway, crashlanding into a house in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
He served twelve years in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot before leaving the military to pursue a writing career, a decision he found difficult because of his passion for flying. His works based on his Air Force experiences have a fatalistic tone:...
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