Stone, Robert

Stone, Robert, 1937–, American novelist, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. He was briefly (1971) a correspondent in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) during the Vietnam War. His experiences there helped form the basis for his best-known novel, Dog Soldiers (1974, National Book Award), which was filmed as Who'll Stop the Rain (1978) with a screenplay by Stone. The book is an account of Vietnam-related drug smuggling, brutality, and disenchantment. Stone's philosophical bent, his vividly gritty style, and his edgy wit are evident in his portrayals of some of American life's darker aspects. His characters often fruitlessly attempt to deal with inescapable events, and the ghost of the Vietnam conflict hovers over much of his fiction. His other works include A Hall of Mirrors (1967), A Flag for Sunrise (1981), Children of Light (1986), Outerbridge Reach (1992), and Bear and His Daughter: Stories (1997). His acclaimed novel Damascus Gate (1998) is a probing story of religion-based conflicts in contemporary Jerusalem; it was followed by Bay of Souls (2003). Stone has won numerous awards, traveled widely, and taught at Princeton, Harvard, and other universities.

Bibliography

See his memoir (2007); studies by R. Solotaroff (1994) and G. Stephenson (2002).

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Stone, Robert (Anthony)

(born Aug. 21, 1937, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. novelist. He served in the U.S. Navy before attending New York and Stanford universities. Dog Soldiers (1974, National Book Award), his second novel, brought home the corruption of the Vietnam War. His later works include the novels A Flag for Sunrise (1981), Outerbridge Reach (1992), and Damascus Gate (1998) and the short-story collection Bear and His Daughter (1997).

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Stone, Robert (Anthony) (1937–  ) writer; born in New York City. He studied at New York University (1958–60), and Stanford (1962–64). He worked for the New York Daily News as a copyboy and caption writer (1958–60), and held a variety of other jobs until he became a free-lance writer in England, California, and South Vietnam (1967–71). He taught at Princeton, Amherst, and Stanford, among other institutions. He is noted for his pessimistic but carefully crafted novels, such as Dog Soldiers (1974). He lived in California.