American writers

1. Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He wrote The Adventures of

Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(1885),[2] the
latter often called "The Great American Novel". Twain's next major publication
was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which drew on his youth in Hannibal. Tom
Sawyer was modeled on Twain as a child, with traces of two schoolmates, John
Briggs and Will Bowen. The book also introduced, in a supporting role,
Huckleberry Finn, based on Twain's boyhood friend Tom Blankenship.
The Prince and the Pauper, despite a storyline that is omnipresent in film and
literature today, was not as well received. Telling the story of two boys born on the
same day who are physically identical, the book acts as a social commentary as the
prince and pauper switch places. Pauper was Twain's first attempt at historical fiction,
and blame for its shortcomings is usually put on Twain for having not been
experienced enough in English society, and also on the fact that it was produced after
a massive hit. In between the writing of Pauper, Twain had started Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn (which he consistently had problems completing[75]) and started and
completed another travel book, A Tramp Abroad, which follows Twain as he traveled
through central and southern Europe.
Twain's next major published work, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, solidified him as
a noteworthy American writer. Some have called it the first Great American Novel,
and the book has become required reading in many schools throughout the United
States. Huckleberry Finn was an offshoot from Tom Sawyer and had a more serious
tone than its predecessor. The main premise behind Huckleberry Finn is the young
boy's belief in the right thing to do though most believed that it was wrong. Four
hundred manuscript pages of Huckleberry Finn were written in mid-1876, right after
the publication of Tom Sawyer. Some accounts have Twain taking seven years off
after his first burst of creativity, eventually finishing the book in 1883. Other accounts
have Twain working on Huckleberry Finn in tandem with The Prince and the
Pauper and other works in 1880 and other years. The last fifth of Huckleberry Finn is
subject to much controversy. Some say that Twain experienced, as critic Leo
Marx puts it, a "failure of nerve". Ernest Hemingway once said of Huckleberry Finn:
If you read it, you must stop where the Nigger Jim is stolen from the boys. That is the
real end. The rest is just cheating.
Hemingway also wrote in the same essay: All modern American literature comes from
one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.[76]
Near the completion of Huckleberry Finn, Twain wrote Life on the Mississippi, which
is said to have heavily influenced the former book.[39] The work recounts Twain's
memories and new experiences after a 22-year absence from the Mississippi. In it, he
also states that "Mark Twain" was the call made when the boat was in safe water –
two fathoms (12 feet or 3.7 metres).
 2. Daniel "Dan" Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author of thriller
fiction who is best known for the 2003 bestselling novelThe Da Vinci Code.
[1]
 Brown's novels are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour period,[2] and feature the
recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories.
His books have been translated into 52 languages, and as of 2012, sold over 200
million copies. Three of them, Angels & Demons (2000), The Da Vinci
Code (2003), and Inferno (2013), have been/are being adapted into films.
Brown's novels that feature the lead character Robert Langdon also include historical
themes and Christianity as motifs, and as a result, have generated controversy. Brown
states on his website that his books are not anti-Christian, though he is on a 'constant
spiritual journey' himself, and says that his book The Da Vinci Code is simply "an
entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate" and suggests that the
book may be used "as a positive catalyst for introspection and exploration of our
faith."
In 1996 Brown quit teaching to become a full-time writer. Digital Fortress was
published in 1998. His wife, Blythe, did much of the book's promotion, writing press
releases, booking Brown on talk shows, and setting up press interviews. A few months
later, Brown and his wife released The Bald Book, another humor book. It was
officially credited to his wife, though a representative of the publisher said that it was
primarily written by Brown. Brown subsequently wrote Angels &
Demons and Deception Point, released in 2000 and 2001 respectively, the former of
which was the first to feature the lead character, Harvard symbology expert Robert
Langdon.
Brown's first three novels had little success, with fewer than 10,000 copies in each of
their first printings. His fourth novel, The Da Vinci Code, became a bestseller, going
to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list during its first week of release in
2003. It is now credited with being one of the most popular books of all time, with 81
million copies sold worldwide as of 2009.[18][19] Its success has helped push sales of
Brown's earlier books. In 2004 all four of his novels were on the New York Times list
in the same week,[20] and in 2005 he made Time magazine's list of the 100 most
influential people of the year. Forbes magazine placed Brown at No. 12 on their 2005
"Celebrity 100" list, and estimated his annual income at US$76.5 million. The
Times estimated his income from Da Vinci Code sales as $250 million.

3. Clive Eric Cussler (born July 15, 1931) is an American adventure novelist and

underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have
reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than 20 times. Cussler is the
founder and chairman[1] of the real-life National Underwater and Marine
Agency (NUMA), which has discovered more than sixty shipwrecksites and numerous
other notable underwater wrecks. He is the sole author or lead author of more than 60
books.

Clive Cussler began writing in 1965 when his wife took a job working nights for the local police
department where they lived in California. After making dinner for the children and putting them to
bed, he had no one to talk to and nothing to do, so he decided to start writing.[5] His most famous
creation is marine engineer, government agent and adventurerDirk Pitt. The Dirk Pitt novels
frequently take on an alternative history perspective, such as "what if Atlantis were real?" or "what
if Abraham Lincoln wasn't assassinated, but was kidnapped?"

The first two Pitt novels, The Mediterranean Caper and Iceberg, were relatively conventional
maritime thrillers. The third, Raise the Titanic!, made Cussler's reputation and established the
pattern that subsequent Pitt novels would follow: a blend of high adventure and high technology,
generally involving megalomaniacal villains, lost ships, beautiful women, and sunken treasure.

Cussler's novels, like those of Michael Crichton, are examples of techno-thrillers that do not use
military plots and settings. Where Crichton strove for scrupulous realism, however, Cussler
prefers fantastic spectacles and outlandish plot devices. The Pitt novels, in particular, have the
anything-goes quality of the James Bond or Indiana Jonesmovies, while also sometimes
borrowing from Alistair MacLean's novels. Pitt himself is a larger-than-life hero reminiscent of Doc
Savage and other characters from pulp magazines.

Cussler has had more than seventeen consecutive titles reach The New York Times fiction best-
seller list.

Life imitating Art[edit]

NUMA[edit]

As an underwater explorer, Cussler has discovered more than sixty shipwreck sites[6] and has

written non-fiction books about his findings. He is also the founder of the National Underwater
and Marine Agency (NUMA), a non-profit organization with the same name as the fictional
government agency that employs Dirk Pitt. Cussler owns a large collection of classic cars,
[6]
 several of which (driven by Pitt) appear in his novels.

Important finds by Cussler's N.U.M.A. include

 The Carpathia. The ship famed for being the first to come to the aid of Titanic survivors.

 The Mary Celeste. The famed ghost ship that was found abandoned with cargo intact.
(The identification of this wreck as the Mary Celeste has since been placed into a state of
question after one researcher disputed the claim's authenticity.)[7]

 The Manassas. The first ironclad of the civil war, formerly the icebreaker Enoch Train.

A visual and interactive depiction of Cussler's NUMA Foundation Expeditions has been made
available as an extension of NUMA's original website.

Appearances as characters[edit]

In what started as a joke in the novel Dragon that Cussler expected his editor to remove, he now
often writes himself into his books; at first as simple cameos, but later as something of a deus ex
machina, providing the novel's protagonists with an essential bit of assistance or information.
Often, the character is given an alias and not revealed as Cussler until his exit with the characters
remarking on his odd name. The cameos are usually restricted to the Pitt adventures, although
the Fargo Files books Lost Empire,Spartan Gold, Kingdom, and The Tombs had Cussler making
an appearance. The Tombs also includes his wife, Janet.

There are at least two other types of recurring in-jokes that are less obvious to a casual reader.
One is the frequent reuse of the name Leigh Hunt for different characters in different novels.
Seventeen books have had a character with this name, frequently in the opening prologues,
frequently a sailor, usually dying; a notable exception is the first (in chronological order) Dirk Pitt
adventure, Pacific Vortex, in which Admiral Leigh Hunt is a major character, commander of the
101st Recovery Fleet in Hawaii. In the introduction toArctic Drift, Cussler says there was a real
Leigh Hunt who died in 2007 and the novel is dedicated to him. Another is that significant events
in several novels occur on July 15 (Cussler's birthday).

Dirk Pitt Adventures

  Publicati
Title
#  on Date

Pacific
1 1983
Vortex!1

The
2 Mediterran 1973
ean Caper 2

3 Iceberg 1975

Raise the
4 1976
Titanic!

5 Vixen 03 1978

Night
6 1981
Probe!
  Publicati
Title
#  on Date

7 Deep Six 1984

8 Cyclops 1986

9 Treasure 1988

10 Dragon 1990

11 Sahara 1992

12 Inca Gold 1994

Shock
13 1996
Wave

14 Flood Tide 1997

Atlantis
15 1999
Found

Valhalla
16 2001
Rising3

Trojan
17 2003
Odyssey3
   Publicati
Title
#  on Date

Black
18 2004
Wind3, 4

Treasure of
19 2006
Khan3, 4

Arctic Drift3,
20 2008
4

Crescent
21 2010
Dawn3, 4

Poseidon's
22 2012
Arrow3, 4

Havana
23 2014
Storm3, 4