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Irwin Shaw Books In Order

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Publication Order of Rich Man, Poor Man Books

Rich Man, Poor Man (1969)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Beggarman, Thief (1977)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

The Young Lions (1948)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Troubled Air (1951)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Voices of a Summer Day (1951)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Lucy Crown (1956)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Two Weeks In Another Town (1960)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Evening In Byzantium (1973)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Nightwork (1975)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Top of the Hill (1979)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Bread Upon the Waters (1981)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Acceptable Losses (1982)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Plays

Bury the Dead (1935)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Collections

Sailor Off the Bremen and Other Stories (1939)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Act of Faith and Other Stories (1946)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Mixed Company (1950)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Selected Short Stories of Irwin Shaw (1961)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Love on a Dark Street (By: Heda Margolius Kovály) (1965)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Whispers In Bedlam (1972)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
God Was Here But He Left Early (1973)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Short Stories (1978)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Retreat (1988)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Welcome to the city and other stories (2002)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

In the Company of Dolphins (1964)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Paris! Paris! (1977)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Anthologies

50 Great Short Stories(1952)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Short Story Masterpieces: 35 Classic American and British Stories from the First Half of the 20th Century(1954)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Points of View(1956)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
This Was Your War(1960)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
50 Great American Short Stories(1963)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Arena: Sports Science Fiction(1976)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Ready or Not: Here Come Fourteen Frightening Stories!(1987)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Great World War II Stories(1989)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Amis Story Anthology(1992)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers(1994)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Writing New York(1998)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Wonderful Town(2000)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Brooklyn Noir 2: The Classics(2005)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff, also known as Irwin Shaw, was an American screenwriter, playwright, writer of short stories, and best-selling novelist that put out a prolific amount of writing throughout his career.

Born February 27, 1913, Irwin was born in New York City in the South Bronx. His mother’s name was Rose and his father’s name was Will, and they were both Russian-Jewish and immigrated to the United States. While Irwin would go on to be a noted writer, his younger brother would also achieve success in Hollywood, where he became a producer.

Once Irwin had been born, it was not too long before the family moved to Brooklyn. Irwin decided that he would change the surname he had once he had gotten to college. He would attend Brooklyn College and graduated in 1934 with his Bachelor of Arts degree.

The future writer was just 21 when he first set about screenwriting. The year was 1935 and he quickly found some work. He wrote the scripts for a couple of well known radio shows that were being broadcast to the masses at the time in America, which included The Gumps, Dick Tracy, and Studio One. This would set off a long career writing for the screen in addition to taking on the novel.

The first play that he composed was titled “Bury the Dead”, a 1936 expressionist drama. Irwin would then write for different films throughout the course of the forties. One was a comedy called “Talk of the Town”, while another was called “The Commandos Strike At Dawn”. Commandos was inspired by a story composed by C.S. Forester where commandos were in Norway (occupied at the time). Another was “Easy Living”, which revolved around an athlete playing football that could not get back into the game thanks to a medical condition.

Shaw would find love with Marian Edwards, and the two would get married. They had a child together, a son that they named Adam. He was born to the couple in 1950 and would follow in the footsteps of this father by also becoming a writer. Adam Shaw would pen articles for magazines and write some nonfiction too.

The author also signed up to be part of the United States Army during the second World War serving as a warrant officer and with a film documentary unit in the Army. His first book would be released in 1949, titled The Young Lions. The premise of the novel was that the book was based on the very real experiences that he himself had gone through during the course of World War II in Europe. With an engaging subject and a willing audience. the novel did very well. It was even made into a film released in 1958.

Shaw’s second book would come out in 1951 and was titled The Troubled Air. It was all about McCarthyism and its rise. The author had signed (along with many other people who had also signed) a petition that was being put to the United States Supreme Court requesting a review of the convictions of Dalton Trumbo and John Howard Lawson for ‘contempt of Congress’ that came from the House Committee’s hearings done on something referred to as “Un-American Activities”.

The finger of communism had been pointed at the author before through the Red Channels publication that had accused him, and falsely so. Regardless, Shaw became blacklisted in Hollywood thanks to the studio bosses that ran the movies. He would take a break from America and in 1951 packed up and moved to Europe. He would reside there for twenty-five years, spending much of his time in Switzerland and Paris. He would later say that being placed on the blacklist had simply ‘bruised’ his own career at the time.

Shaw would continue to write, composing many additional screenplays during the fifties. He would write “Desire Under the Elms”, based on a play by Eugene O’Neill, as well as “Fire Down Below”, which revolved around a tramp boat that was on the waters of the Caribbean.

Shaw would write more books in Europe that would go on to do quite well. Some of the more popular best sellers included Lucy Crown, Two Weeks in Another Town, Rich Man, Poor Man, and Evening in Byzantium. Byzantium would be adapted into a television movie in 1978, while Rich Man, Poor Man became a television miniseries that aired in 1976 on ABC and did very well. Top of the Hill was also adapted into a television movie based off of the author’s book regaling the Lake Placid Winter Olympics tale. The movie starred Adrienne Barbeau, Wayne Rogers, and Sonny Bono.

The author would pass away on May 16, 1984 in Switzerland at the age of 71.

Irwin Shaw is the author of the novel Rich Man, Poor Man. The book was first released in 1969 for readers to pick up and enjoy and remains a classic.

This novel has been called an engrossing novel that is so “well written” that the reader doesn’t want to finish it, according to The San Francisco Examiner. The publication also chalked the novel up to being the best work by the writer to date. It has sold over six million copies, making it officially a best seller you cannot miss out on!

Beggarman, Thief is the second novel to follow the debut Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw. While the first novel did very well, the second installment failed to take off in terms of sales of copies, but was a welcome addition to the series nonetheless.

Main character Wesley cannot shake the murder of his father and so he takes on a quest that becomes very personal to him. He also starts seeing a girl that may be leading him on into dangers he never sees coming. But Gretchen takes on challenges that come her way and the effect on her life may be significant.

This book jumps from the US to Europe and chronicles one family and their successes, their ups and downs. Check out the sequel to the first novel and see what all the buzz is about!

Book Series In Order » Authors » Irwin Shaw

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