Winston GroomA member of ROTC at the university, Groom served in the U.S. Army (1965-1967), mostly with the Fourth Infantry Division, completing a tour of duty in Vietnam (1966-1967), an experience that had a profound effect on both his fiction and nonfiction. During his military service, Groom achieved the rank of captain. Upon his discharge, Groom settled in Washington, D.C., and began working as a reporter for The Washington Star, covering police and court matters and later writing a column. While at the Star, Groom met southern author Willie Morris, who encouraged him to go to New York to pursue his writing career. Groom followed this advice, and in New York, he moved in the city’s literary circles, encountering among others fellow Alabamian A member of ROTC at the university, Groom served in the U.S. Army ( 1965-1967 ), largely with the Fourth Infantry Division, completing a tour of duty in Vietnam ( 1966-1967 ), an experience that had a profound effect on both his fiction and nonfiction. During his military service, Groom achieved the membership of captain. Upon his exhaust, Groom settled in Washington, D.C., and began working as a reporter for The Washington Star, covering police and court matters and late writing a column. While at the Star, Groom met southerly author Willie Morris, who encouraged him to go to New York to pursue his writing career. dress followed this advice, and in New York, he moved in the city ‘s literary circles, encountering among others fellow alabaman Truman Capote. In 1969 Winston Groom married his first wife, Ruth Noble. They divorced in 1974. In 1976, he quit journalism and began writing novel full-time, publishing three in conclusion succession : Better Times than These ( 1978 ), As Summers Die ( 1980 ), and only ( 1984 ). During this period, he besides co-wrote Conversations with the enemy : The Story of PFC Robert Garwood ( 1983 ) with boyfriend journalist Duncan Spencer. Conversations with the Enemy, a workplace of creative nonfiction, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Better Times Than These and Conversations with the Enemy both draw on Groom ‘s own experiences and focus on the lives of U.S. soldiers who served in Vietnam and their experiences after the war. Better Times Than These, written from the perspective of a southerly writer who reflects upon the hideous experiences of Company Bravo, received critical applaud when it was published. In 1980, Groom received the Best fabrication Award from the Southern Library Association for As Summers Die, which focuses on a lawyer in small-town Louisiana and his ingress into the realities of segregation and avarice when oil is discovered on a black sharecroppers ‘ land. This novel was adapted for television receiver in 1986. lone focuses on the life of a shepherd dog of the like name and his kinship with his new family. In 1985, Groom returned to Mobile and began writing Forrest Gump. Although it was published in 1986, the record was not well known until it was adapted for the film of the same name in 1994. early reappraisal of the record were broadly favorable, although more than one commentator stated that the fresh lacked depth in both character and plat. Forrest Gump tells the story of a simple-minded barren whose life intersects the critical diachronic moments that occur during the disruptive period of american history that includes the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, and America ‘s involvement in Vietnam. The plot of the movie diverges greatly from that of the novel, in which the supporter finally becomes a wrestler, an astronaut, and tied a chess actor ; moreover, the film ‘s Gump is rather more naïve and affirmative than the Gump of Groom ‘s novel. In the wake island of the film ‘s success, however, Forrest Gump became a best seller ( 1.7 million copies ). Groom, trying to build on the movie ‘s popularity, quickly published the short solve Gumpisms : The Wit and Wisdom of Forrest Gump ( 1994 ) and the fresh Gump and Co. ( 1995 ). He besides followed the movie ‘s success with two cookbooks : The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Cookbook ( 1994 ) and Forrest Gump : My favorite Chocolate Recipes ; Mama ‘s Fudge, Cookies, Cakes, and Candies ( 1995 ).
In the year after the publication of Forrest Gump, Groom married his second wife, Anne Clinton Bridges, with whom he had a daughter.
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Groom ‘s adjacent work of fiction, Gone the Sun ( 1988 ), centers on a Vietnam veteran who returns to his childhood home in Alabama, takes over the newspaper, and begins uncovering the township ‘s secrets. The novel meet with broadly friendly reviews, specially in terms of its plot twists and narration, and won the Pulitzer Prize. Groom published his most recent fresh, Such a Pretty, Pretty Girl, in 1999. The crime thriller focuses on a recently married Los Angeles anchorwoman who is being blackmailed, her early lover, and his investigations into the blackmailer ‘s identity. Such a Pretty, Pretty Girl has been reviewed as an effective page-turner, but critics have deplored its reliance on the ceremonious tactics of the detective thriller genre. This novel has not been reviewed angstrom positively as Groom ‘s earlier work .
Winston Groom, 2013Groom’s more recent work has focused on historical nonfiction. His first such book, Shrouds of Glory: From Atlanta to Nashville; The Last Great Campaign of the Civil War, was published in 1994. In 2000, Groom published The Crimson Tide: An Illustrated History of Football at the University of Alabama. In 2002, he published A Storm in Flanders: The Ypres Salient; Tragedy and Triumph on the Western Front. He followed these with 1942: The Year that Tried Men’s Souls (2005), Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Lafitte at the Battle of New Orleans (2006), and, most recently, Vicksburg, 1863 (2009). Groom’s work as a narrative historian has earned him much praise by general reviewers, who see him as presenting historical events in a novelistic manner for a general readership. Vicksburg, 1863 earned particularly high praise. In 2011, Groom would be honored with the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Year. In 2016, Groom published his first novel in almost two decades, El Paso. In 2018, he was inducted into the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. Groom ‘s more recent shape has focused on historical nonfiction. His first such book, Shrouds of Glory : From Atlanta to Nashville ; The last Great Campaign of the Civil War, was published in 1994. In 2000, Groom published The Crimson Tide : An Illustrated History of Football at the University of Alabama. In 2002, he published A ramp in Flanders : The Ypres Salient ; Tragedy and Triumph on the western Front. He followed these with 1942 : The year that Tried Men ‘s Souls ( 2005 ), patriotic fire : Andrew Jackson and Jean Lafitte at the Battle of New Orleans ( 2006 ), and, most recently, Vicksburg, 1863 ( 2009 ). Groom ‘s work as a narrative historian has earned him much praise by general reviewers, who see him as presenting diachronic events in a novelistic manner for a general readership. Vicksburg, 1863 earned peculiarly high praise. In 2011, Groom would be honored with the Harper Lee Award for Alabama ‘s Distinguished Writer of the year. In 2016, Groom published his first base fresh in about two decades, El Paso. In 2018, he was inducted into the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame .
Additional Resources
Hoffman, Roy. “The Bard of Point Clear: The Inimitable Winston Groom.” Garden & Gun Magazine (Summer 2007); https://gardenandgun.com/articles/the-bard-of-point-clear. Groom resided in Point Clear, Baldwin County, until his death on September 16, 2020.Additional ResourcesHoffman, Roy. “ The Bard of Point Clear : The Inimitable Winston Groom. ” Garden & Gun Magazine ( Summer 2007 ) ; hypertext transfer protocol : //gardenandgun.com/articles/the-bard-of-point-clear .
