Chester Alan Arthur (1830-86) was born in Fairfield, VT on October 5, 1830. The Internet Public Library is good source for info on Presidents.

Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822-1893) was born in Delaware, OH on October 4, 1822. You can find his Diary & Letters online.

Hugh Brody (1943-) was born on October 4, 1943. Read Orrin's review of The Other Side of Eden : Hunters, Farmers and the Shaping of the World (2001)

Alain-Fournier [Henri Alban Fournier] (1886-1914) was born in La Chapelle-d'Angillon, FR on October 3, 1886. Read Orrin's review of The Wanderer or The End of Youth (1912).

James Herriot, author of the All Creatures Great and Small Series, born in Glasgow, Scotland, October 3, 1916.

Graham Greene (1904-1991) was born in Hertfordshire, England on October 2, 1904. Read Orrin's reviews of : The Heart of the Matter (1948)(Grade: A); The Third Man (1950)(Grade: A-); & The Quiet American (1956)(Grade: A)

Wallace Stevens (1879-1955) was born in Reading, PA on October 2, 1879. His Collected Poems (1954) won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) was born in Porbandar, India on October 2, 1869.

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (1924-) was born in Plains, GA on October 1, 1924. He actually wrote one book that I like: An Outdoor Journal : Adventures and Reflections

Jim Thompson (1906-77) was born in Oklahoma on September 27, 1906. Read Orrin's reviews of Roughneck (1954)(Grade: A),The Grifters (1964)(Grade: A), Pop. 1280 (1964)(Grade: A-)

T. S. [Thomas Stearns] Eliot (1888-1965) was born in St. Louis, MO on September 26, 1888. Read Orrin's reviews of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915), The Hollow Men (1927) (Grade: B+), and Murder in the Cathedral (1935) (Grade: A-)

William Faulkner (1897-1962) was born in Albany, MS on September 25, 1897. Read Orrin's review of Light in August (1932) (Grade: B-)

Shel Silverstein (1930-1999) was born in Chicago, IL on September 25, 1930. Read Orrin's review ofThe Giving Tree (1964) & Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974)(Shel Silverstein 1930-1999)(Grades: A+ & A-)

John Marshall (1755-1835) was born in Fauquier County, VA on September 24, 1755.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was born in St. Paul, MN on September 24, 1896. Read Orrin's review of The Great Gatsby (1925)(Grade: B)

William H McGuffey (1800-1873) was born on September 23, 1800. His McGuffey Readers taught generations of Americans.

John Coltrane (1926-1967) was born in Hamlet, NC on September 23, 1926. Dryfoos and Geller both recommend Giant Steps (1960).

Bruce Springsteen was born in Asbury Park, NJ on September 23, 1949. Born in the U.S.A. was Ronald Reagan's reelection campaign theme song in 1984.

Stephen King was born in Portland, ME on September 21, 1947. Read Orrin's reviews of The Cycle of the Werewolf (1983)(Ill. by Bernie Wrightson)(Grade: C), Pet Sematary (1983)(Grade: C+), The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) (Grade: B), and The Green Mile (1997)(Grade: A-)

Herbert George (H. G.) Wells (1866-1946) was born in Kent, GB on September 21, 866. Read Orrin's review of The Invisible Man (1897) (Grade: A)

Charles Williams (1886-1945) was born on September 20, 1886. Read Orrin's review of Descent into Hell (1937)

William Golding (1911-1993) was born near Newquay, Cornwall on September 19, 1911. Read Orrin's review of Lord of the Flies (1954) (Grade: C)

Samuel Johnson (1709-84) was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire on September 18, 1709. Brothers Judd recommends his Dictionary of the English Language (1755) and Boswell's Life of Johnson.

Robert B. Parker (1932-) was born in Springfield, MA on September 17, 1932. Read Orrin's review of A Savage Place (1981)(Grade: A)

Ken Kesey (1935-) was born in La Junta, CO on September 17, 1935. Brothers Judd recommends his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962).

The Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, was one of the bloodiest days in American history, with 23,000 casualties. Brothers Judd recommends William Safire's excellent Civil War novel, Freedom.

Hank Williams (1923-53) was born in Georgiana, AL on September 16, 1923. Brothers Judd recommends the biography Your Cheatin' Heart : A Biography of Hank Williams (Chet Flippo) and the album, Forty Greatest Hits of Hank Williams.

John Gay (1685-1732) was born on September 16, 1685. Read Orrin's review of The Beggar's Opera (1728)(Grade: A)

Francis Parkman (1823-1893) America's greatest Historian, was born on September 16, 1823. Read Orrin's review of The Oregon Trail (1847) (Grade: A+)

William Howard Taft (1857-1930), 27th President of the United States, was born in Cincinnati, OH on September 15, 1857.

Bernard MacLaverty (1942-) was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on September 14, 1942. Brothers Judd recommends his novel Cal (1983) which was adapted into a very good movie version (1984) starring Helen Mirren.