Tim O'Brien
1946-
Other Works
Going After Cacciato
The Nuclear Age
The Things They Carried
In the Lake of the Woods
Young Writer While growing up in Minnesota, Tim O'Brien displayed an early flair for writing. He wrote his first story, "Timmy of the Little League," at the age of nine. He wrote his first novel when he was a student at Macalester College in St. Paul--although today he is thankful it was never published! Vietnam War Shortly after graduating from college, O'Brien was drafted into the U.S. Army. Opposed to the Vietnam War, he thought seriously about fleeing to Canada or going to prison to avoid military service. He changed his mind, though, and was shipped to Vietnam in 1969. Although his war experiences were extremely unpleasant, they prompted him to write and provided much material to write about. In 1973, O'Brien published his first book, a personal memoir called If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. The Vietnam War has been the main subject of his writing for over 20 years.
Other Pursuits In 1970, O'Brien moved to the Boston area, where he studied for a doctoral degree in government at Harvard University. He also worked briefly as a news reporter for the Washington Post and as a teaching assistant. O'Brien still lives in Massachusetts but now spends most of his time writing.
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