Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien (born October 1, 1946) is an American novelist who served as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Much of his writing is about wartime Vietnam, and his later work often explores the postwar lives of its veterans. O’Brien is perhaps best known for his book The Things They Carried (1990), a collection of linked semi-autobiographical stories inspired by O'Brien's wartime experiences. In 2010, The New York Times described the latter as “ a classic of contemporary war fiction.” In addition, O’Brien is acclaimed for his war novel, Going After Cacciato (1978), which received the National Book Award. Although generally known as a Vietnam War writer, O'Brien is also an esteemed teacher and creative writing instructor who held the endowed chair at the MFA program of Texas State University–San Marcos every other academic year from 2003 to 2012. Biography