Joe David Brown

He drew memorably from his own life to compose his fiction: his grandfather's role as a minister, his own knowledge of confidence games from his work as a reporter, his World War II experiences, and his residence on journalistic assignment in India.He is particularly remembered for the title character of his novel Addie Pray, the young "Mistress of the Con Game" during the Great Depression in the Deep South; an adaptation of the story later became the film Paper Moon.In 1939, he began working for the New York Daily News, but his time there was interrupted in 1942 by World War II, in which he served in the U.S. Army with the 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (460th PFAB).Brown returned to the Daily News, then from 1949 to 1957 was a foreign correspondent for Time and Life, serving in New Delhi, India; Paris, France; London and Moscow.Kings Go Forth (1956) draws upon Brown's military experiences (and also was made into a movie released in 1958), and Glimpse of a Stranger (1968) highlights the contrast between the cultures of India and the United States.
novelistjournalistBirminghamAlabamaconfidence gamesWorld War IIAddie PrayGreat DepressionDeep SouthPaper MoonnewspaperBirmingham PostDothan EagleAtlanta, GeorgiaChattanooga, TennesseeSt. Louis, MissouriNew York Daily NewsU.S. Army460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (460th PFAB)Southern Francebattlefield commissionsecond lieutenantPurple HeartCroix de GuerreNew Delhi, IndiaParis, FranceLondonMoscowTime-Lifemovie by the same namea movieRyan O'Neala TV series of the same nameJodie FosterAmerican SouthUnited StatesKings Go ForthCurtis Publishing Company