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E. L. Doctorow (1931–2015)

Author of Ragtime: A Novel

49+ Works 23,113 Members 651 Reviews 51 Favorited

About the Author

E. L. (Edgar Lawrence) Doctorow was born on January 6, 1931, in the Bronx, New York. He received an A.B. in philosophy in 1952 from Kenyon College and did graduate work at Columbia University. He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1953-1955. He began his career as a script reader for CBS show more Television and Columbia Pictures and as a senior editor for the New American Library. He was editor-in-chief for Dial Press from 1964 to 1969, where he also served as vice president and publisher in his last year on staff. It was at this time that he decided to write full time. He wrote novels, short stories, essays, and a play. His debut novel, Welcome to Hard Times, was published in 1960 and was adapted into a film in 1967. His other works include, Loon Lake, The Waterworks, The March, Homer and Langley, and Andrew's Brain. He won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1986 for World's Fair and the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in 1976 for Ragtime, which was adapted into a film in 1981 and a Broadway musical in 1998. Billy Bathgate received the PEN/Faulkner Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the William Dean Howells Medal in 1990. The Book of Daniel and Billy Bathgate were also adapted into films. He received the 2013 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters for his outstanding achievement in fiction writing. He died of complications from lung cancer on July 21, 2015 at the age of 84. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Works by E. L. Doctorow

Ragtime: A Novel (1975) 6,213 copies
The March (2005) 3,009 copies
Billy Bathgate (1989) 2,270 copies
Homer & Langley (2009) 1,999 copies
The Book of Daniel: A Novel (1971) 1,545 copies
City of God (2000) 1,536 copies
The Waterworks (1995) 1,394 copies
World's Fair (1985) 1,284 copies
Loon Lake (1980) 813 copies
Andrew's Brain (2014) 605 copies
Welcome to Hard Times (1960) 498 copies
The Best American Short Stories 2000 (2000) — Editor — 391 copies
Sweet Land Stories (2004) 373 copies
Doctorow: Collected Stories (2016) 90 copies
Drinks Before Dinner (1978) 79 copies
Reporting the Universe (2003) 36 copies
Big As Life (1966) 12 copies
Lamentation: 9/11 (2002) 9 copies
Three Screenplays (2003) 7 copies
Jolene [2008 film] (2008) — Writer — 2 copies
The Paris Review 92 1984 Summer (1984) — Contributor — 2 copies

Associated Works

The Secret Agent (1907) — Introduction, some editions — 6,531 copies
Sister Carrie (1900) — Introduction, some editions — 4,022 copies
Arrowsmith (1925) — Afterword, some editions — 2,075 copies
The 42nd Parallel (1930) — Foreword, some editions — 1,619 copies
The Best American Short Stories 2003 (2003) — Contributor — 467 copies
The Best American Short Stories 2002 (2002) — Contributor — 462 copies
American Gothic Tales (1996) — Contributor — 457 copies
The Call of the Wild, White Fang & To Build a Fire (Modern Library Classics) (1998) — Introduction, some editions — 293 copies
Karoo (1998) — Introduction, some editions — 279 copies
Writing New York: A Literary Anthology (1998) — Contributor — 275 copies
Granta 24: Inside Intelligence (1988) — Contributor — 151 copies
The Best American Essays 1992 (1992) — Contributor — 138 copies
The Schocken Book of Contemporary Jewish Fiction (1992) — Contributor — 124 copies
The Ecco Anthology of Contemporary American Short Fiction (2008) — Contributor — 122 copies
The Best American Magazine Writing 2003 (2003) — Contributor — 70 copies
The Best American Magazine Writing 2002 (2002) — Contributor — 69 copies
The Best American Short Stories 1985 (1985) — Contributor — 61 copies
Dark Arrows: Great Stories of Revenge (1985) — Contributor — 60 copies
The Jewish Writer (1998) — Contributor — 52 copies
The Best of the Marx Brothers (2007) — Introduction — 39 copies
The Good Parts: The Best Erotic Writing in Modern Fiction (2000) — Contributor — 34 copies
American Review 20 (1974) — Contributor — 11 copies
Het derde Testament : Joodse verhalen (1995) — Contributor, some editions — 7 copies
Voices of Sag Harbor: A Village Remembered (2007) — Preface — 5 copies

Tagged

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Common Knowledge

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Discussions

Group Read, November 2017: City of God in 1001 Books to read before you die (November 2017)

Reviews

Historical fiction at its best with Doctorow commanding Sherman's march across the south.
 
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ben_r47 | 84 other reviews | Feb 22, 2024 |
3.75. Great to read if you love the musical.
 
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Fortunesdearest | 122 other reviews | Feb 2, 2024 |
(2005)Very good Civil War novel that follows several people that get involved with Sherman's march thru Georgia and the Carolinas at the end of the war.
 
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derailer | 84 other reviews | Jan 25, 2024 |
I love Doctorow's writing and stories but this one just didn't do it for me. I got to the end and figured I must have missed the point. I just didn't understand what I was supposed to think at the end.
 
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ellink | 97 other reviews | Jan 22, 2024 |

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Statistics

Works
49
Also by
32
Members
23,113
Popularity
#914
Rating
½ 3.7
Reviews
651
ISBNs
538
Languages
23
Favorited
51

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