Peter Straub, whose literary novels of terror, mystery and the supernatural placed him in the top ranks of the horror-fiction boom of the 1970s and ’80s, alongside writers like Ira Levin, Anne Rice and his close friend and collaborator Stephen King, died on Sunday in Manhattan. He was 79. Read more
Category: Obituaries
Barbara Ehrenreich, Explorer of Prosperity’s Dark Side, Dies at 81
Her book “Nickel and Dimed,” an undercover account of the indignities of being a low-wage worker in the United States, is considered a classic in social justice literature. Read more
David McCullough, Best-Selling Explorer of America’s Past, Dies at 89
His research — on Adams, Truman and so much more — was deep, his writing was lively, and his narrator’s voice in documentary films was familiar to millions. Read more
Stuart Woods, Prolific Best-Selling Thriller Author, Dies at 84
Stuart Woods, a prolific, prizewinning mystery writer who churned out multiple best sellers during what his memoir duly described as “an extravagant life,” died on July 22 at his home in Washington, Conn. He was 84. Read more
P.J. O’Rourke, Conservative Political Satirist, Dies at 74
P.J. O’Rourke, the conservative satirist and political commentator who was unafraid to skewer Democrats and Republicans alike in best-selling books like “Parliament of Whores,” in articles for a wide range of magazines and newspapers, and on television and radio talk shows, died on Tuesday at his home in Sharon, N.H. He was 74. Read more
Joan Didion, ‘New Journalist’ Who Explored Culture and Chaos, Dies at 87
Joan Didion, whose mordant dispatches on California culture and the chaos of the 1960s established her as a leading exponent of the New Journalism, and whose novels “Play It as It Lays” and “The Book of Common Prayer” proclaimed the arrival of a tough, terse, distinctive voice in American fiction, died on Thursday at her home in Manhattan. She was 87. Read more
Anne Rice, Who Spun Gothic Tales of Vampires, Dies at 80
She wrote more than 30 novels, including the best seller “Interview With the Vampire,” which became a hit movie starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Read more
Stephen Sondheim, Titan of the American Musical, Is Dead at 91
He was the theater’s most revered and influential composer-lyricist of the last half of the 20th century and the driving force behind some of Broadway’s most beloved and celebrated shows. Read more
Timuel Black, historian, civil rights activist, dies at 102
Mr. Black, a political and civil rights activist, educator, historian, prolific author and revered elder statesman and griot of Chicago’s Black community, died Wednesday. Read more
Janet Malcolm, Provocative Journalist With a Piercing Eye, Dies at 86
Janet Malcolm, a longtime writer for The New Yorker who was known for her piercing judgments, her novel-like nonfiction and a provocative moral certainty that cast a cold eye on journalism and its practitioners, died on Wednesday in a hospital in Manhattan. She was 86. Read more
