Leon Uris Author Biographies

Leon Marcus Uris was born August 3, 1924 in Baltimore Maryland. His parents were Wolf William Uris, a Polish immigrant, a paper hanger and later became a shop owner, and Anna Uris, a first generation American. Leon did poorly in school and never graduated high school. He joined the United States Marine Corp when he was only 17, serving from 1942 until 1945. He met and married Marine Sergeant, Betty Beck, in 1945.

Leon started writing stories as a child but remained unpublished until 1950, when an article he wrote was bought by Esquire Magazine. That started him writing full time. His first novel was published in 1953 an after being rejected nine times, became a best seller.

Leon worked as a war correspondent in 1956, covering the Arab-Israeli fighting. The book Exodus, published in 1958, came about from these events. The book was made into a movie and later a musical. He also authored several screen plays during his career.

Leon and Betty divorced in 1965. He was remarried in 1968 to Margery Edwards, but she died a year later. In 1970 he married photographer, Jill Peabody. They had two children, but divorced in 1989.

Leon Uris became a prolific public speaker and from1959-1993 spoke mostly on Jewish causes at on University campuses.

Leon died on June 21, 2003.

Books by Leon Uris: Novels:
Battle Cry(1953)
The Angry Hills (1955)
Exodus (1958)
Exodus Revisited (1960)
Mila 18 (1961)
Armageddon (1963)
Topaz (1967)
The Third Temple (1967)
QB VII (1970)
Trinity (1976)
The Haj(1984)
Mitla Pass (1988)
Redemption (1995)
A God in Ruins(1999)
O’Hara’s Choice (2003)

Omnibus:
Three Great Novels of World II(1996) (Thomas Heggen, James A Michener)

Jeffrey Archer Author Biographies

Jeffrey Howard Archer was born on April 15, 1940 in London and raised in Somerset, England. His parents were William, a printer, and Lola Archer, a journalist. He gained his education at Wellington and Brasenose College, Oxford. There he earned the position of President of University Athletic Club. He met his future wife, Mary Doreen Weeden at Oxford where she was studying chemistry. They married in 1966 and have remained married. They have two sons, William and James.

Jeffrey won a position on the Greater London Council. In 1969, at the age of 29, he became a Member of Parliament for Louth. He resigned from the House of Commons in 1974 after he suffered near bankruptcy behind some bad investments. He turned his attention to writing and his first novels became best sellers. Still today, he says he likes politics more than writing.
From 1985 to 1986 Jeffrey was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. In 1986 he sued a publication for falsely accusing him of paying for sex with a prostitute. He won the case and was awarded an astounding 500,000 lira in damages.

He ran for Mayor of London, but in 1999, he withdrew his nomination. He had been charged with five counts including perjury and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. It seems a friend finally admitted that he lied for Jeffrey on the witness stand. Jeffrey Archer was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison.

Jeffrey spent two years of his term in prison. His time in prison brought about three nonfiction books known as the Prison Diaries.

There seems to be mixed feelings toward Jeffrey Archer. He has been called a controversial character, a rogue, humorless, charming, a liar, a cad, charismatic, funny, and a man lacking self introspection. One thing we do know for sure; he is a brilliant writer of novels and short stories. He is also a playwright.

He says he usually starts writing from 6AM for two hours then takes a break for two hours. This continues through the day until 8PM. He writes in long hand with a felt tip pen. He says that writing is serious business and not easy. You must be dedicated. He says, “A good novel combines good story telling with good writing.”

Books by Jeffrey Archer:

Series:
Shall We Tell the President? (1977)
Kane and Abel(1979)
The Prodigal Daughter (1982)
Kane and Abel 30th Anniversary Edition (2009)

Novels:
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less (1976)
First Among Equals (1984)
A Matter of Honour (1986)
As the Crow Flies (1991)
Honour Among Thieves (1993)
The Proprietors (1995)
The Fourth Estate(1996)
The Eleventh Commandment (1998)
Sons of Fortune (2002)
False Impression (2006)
A Prisoner of Birth (2008)
Paths of Glory (2009)

Collections:
A Quiver Full of Arrows (1980)
A Twist in the Tale (1988)
The Play’s the Thing (1990)
Twelve Red Herrings (1994)
The Collected Short Stories (1997)
To Cut a Long Story Short (2000)
A Collection of Short Stories (2000)
The Expert Witness and Other Stories (2000)
The Grass is Always Greener and Other Stories (2000)
Cat O'Nine Tales: And Other Stories(2006)
Word Play (The Jeffrey Archer Collection (2007)
And Thereby Hangs a Tale (2010)

Plays:
Willy and the Killer Kipper (1981)
Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1989)
The Perfect Murder (2001)
The Accused (2001)

Nonfiction Series:
Hell (2002) (writing as FF8282)
Purgatory (2003)
Heaven: A Prison Diary Volume 3(2004)