Nile Kenya

J.D. Salinger (January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his iconic novel The Catcher in the Rye, published in 1951. Born in Manhattan, New York, to a Jewish father and an Irish Catholic mother, Salinger attended several schools, including Valley Forge Military Academy and Columbia University, where he studied writing under Whit Burnett.

Salinger served in the U.S. Army during World War II, participating in key battles such as D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, experiences that deeply influenced his writing. He gained recognition with his short stories published in The New Yorker, particularly with the acclaimed story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” in 1948.

The Catcher in the Rye explores themes of adolescent alienation and has become a classic of American literature, selling over 65 million copies. Following its success, Salinger became increasingly reclusive, moving to Cornish, New Hampshire, where he avoided public attention and stopped publishing new work after 1965.

His later works include Nine Stories (1953), Franny and Zooey (1961), and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963). Salinger died at the age of 91 in his home in Cornish, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.