Lester Atwell (July 31, 1908 – April 30, 2001) was a novelist, short-story writer and US veteran from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. His most notable works include ''Private'', ''Love is Just Around the Corner'' and ''Life with its Sorrow, Life with its Tear''.

Military service

At the age of 34 Atwell was drafted in the Army to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. As an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

man in the 87th Infantry Division he was active in the European theater, and fought in

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

as part of the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

Works

Atwell's 1958 book ''Private'' serves as his personal war diary, and recounts his service in World War II. The work has been described as being "as complete and accurate a picture of men in and awaiting combat as one is likely to find." The work was runner-up for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1959 in the

nonfiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

category. Atwell's ''Love is Just Around the Corner'' served as the basis for the Broadway musical '' Flora the Red Menace''. His third book ''Life With Its Sorrow, Life With Its Tear'' was published in 1971, and his short stories have appeared in publications including ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' and ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

''. His last novel ''The Other Dear Charmer'' was written at the age of 82.

Death

Atwell died peacefully of natural causes at the age of 92 in Cary, North Carolina.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atwell, Lester 1908 births 2001 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American male novelists Writers from Brooklyn Fordham University alumni Art Students League of New York alumni American war novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American short story writers Novelists from New York (state) United States Army soldiers