From Our Editors
Stephen King, the
master of horror, departed from his usual genre to write this
interesting work of fiction that takes place in the 1960s. Hearts in Atlantis
draws heavily from King's experience as a
child of the '60s and what it was like to live with the trauma of
the Vietnam War. In this suspenseful yarn, King uses a cast of
confused young characters to describe how it felt to be part of
that generation, with all its unexpected hopes, burning social
changes and disillusionments.
From the Publisher
Although it is difficult to believe, the Sixties are not fictional:
THEY ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
No matter the format, Stephen King''s work is spellbinding
because the author himself is spellbound. The first hugely popular
writer of the TV generation, King published his first novel,
Carrie, in 1974, the year before the last U.S. troops
withdrew from Vietnam. Images from that war -- and protests against
it -- had flooded America''s living rooms for nearly ten years. In
Hearts in Altantis, King mesmerizes readers with fiction
deeply rooted in the Sixties, and explores -- through four defining
decades -- the haunting legacy of the Vietmnam War.
As the characters in Hearts in Atlantis are tested in
every way, King probes and unlocks the secrets of his generation
for us all. Full of danger, full of suspense, and most of all full
of heart, Stephen King''s new book will take some readers
to a place they have never been able to leave completely.
From the Jacket
Although it is difficult to believe, the Sixties are not fictional:
they actually happened.
No matter the format, Stephen King''s work is spellbinding
because the author himself is spellbound. The first hugely popular
writer of the TV generation, King published his first novel,
Carrie, in 1974, the year before the last U.S. troops withdrew from
Vietnam. Images from that war -- and protests against it -- had
flooded America''s living rooms for nearly ten years. In HEARTS IN
ATLANTIS, King mesmerizes readers with fiction deeply rooted in the
Sixties, and explores -- through four defining decades -- the
haunting legacy of the Vietnam War.
As the characters in HEARTS IN ATLANTIS are tested in every way,
King probes and unlocks the secrets of his generation for us all.
Full of danger, full of suspense, and most of all full of heart,
Stephen King''s new book will take some readers to a place they
have never been...and others to a place they have never been able
to leave completely.
About the Author
Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine, on September 21, 1947, to Donald and Nellie Ruth King. King wrote his first short story before he was seven years old. As a teenager, he played on the football team and joined a rock band, but also had two of his short stories published. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970, he married Tabitha Spruce, also a writer, in 1971, and began a career as a teacher. His spare time was spent in writing novels that were consistently rejected by publishers. King's first novel would never have been published if not for his wife. She removed the first few chapters from the garbage after King had thrown them away in frustration. Three months later, he received a $2,500 advance from Doubleday Publishing for the book that went on to sell a modest 13,000 hardcover copies. That book, Carrie, was about a girl with telekinetic powers who is tormented by bullies at school. She uses her power, in turn, to torment and eventually destroy her mean-spirited classmates. When United Artists released the film version in 1976, it was a critical and commercial success. The paperback version of the book, released after the movie, went on to sell more than two-and-a-half million copies. Many of King's other horror novels have been adapted into movies, including The Shining, Firestarter, Pet Semetary, Cujo, Misery, The Stand, and The Tommyknockers. Under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, King has written the books The Running Man, The Regulators, Thinner, The Long Walk, Roadwork, and Rage. Today, Stephen King is one of the world's most successful writers, with more than 100 million copies of his works in print. Many of his books have been translated into foreign languages, and he writes new books at a rate of about one per year. King and his wife have three children and live in the small town of Bangor, Maine, where many of his stories are set.
Mass Market Paperbound
688 Pages, 4.19 x 6.75 x 1.45 in
July 15, 2000
Pocket Books
English
0671024248
9780671024246