Leon Uris (3rd August, 1924 – June 21, 2003) was an American author of historical fiction who wrote many bestselling books. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Uris was the son of Jewish American parents Wolf William and Anna Uris. His father was a Polish born immigrant, his mother a first generation Russian American.
Uris was six years old when he was first recognised for his literary skills when he wrote an operetta inspired by the death of his dog. He would go on to write many bestselling works, based around major political and historic events. Today we’re going to recommend four books you may like to try.
Exodus
Exodus is Uris’ best selling and most popular novel. It’s reported that Uris financed his own travel and research to write this epic saga, inspired by his passion for Israel. The book tells the story of the early days of Israel through SS Exodus, a ship that was seized by the British as it tried to bring Jewish immigrants to Palestine.
Mitla Pass
Mitla Pass is an introspective novel and you’ll find in it a lot of Uris himself, disguised as the protagonist Gideon Zadonk. Zadonk is an American author who travels to Israel to research a book and escape his dysfunctional marriage, instead he finds himself in the midst of an international crisis.
Armageddon
Armageddon is the spellbinding novelisation of the Berlin airlift told through the eyes of American Captain Sean O’Sullivan. In Berlin he learns the horrific truth of the Holocaust and sees firsthand the Soviet takeover of Germany. Historians have commended this novel for explaining the consequences of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Trinity
Trinity tells the story of Ireland, following families the Larkins and O’Neills, Catholic hill farmers from the fictional town of Ballyutogue, Donegal; the Macleods, Protestant shipyard workers from Belfast; and the Hubbles. The book spans a number of historical events from the Great Famine up to the Easter Rising. If Trinity leaves you wanting more, we’d definitely recommend continuing the story with the sequel Redemption.
We’ve picked four of the bestselling Leon Uris books today, but he was a prolific author and his back catalogue is well worth checking out if you’re a fan of historical fiction. You can find all Leon Uris’ books here.
Canadian Writer Alice Munro, dies at 92
Birmingham Poet, Benjamin Zephaniah dies, aged 65
Top Authors Join Legal Battle Against OpenAI for Mass Copyright Infringement
Literary Icon, Cormac McCarthy has died