"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Nathaniel Benchley was the author of several different types of books, as well as plays, movies and magazine articles.
He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard College, majoring in English. Shortly after graduation, he married Marjorie Bradford, and they settled down in New York City, where he worked for several newspapers and magazines. In 1941, before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the U. S. Navy and was later trained to command small PT attack boats. He served in the Navy in the North and South Atlantic theaters and was on his way to the Pacific campaign when the war ended in 1945. He returned to New York and joined his wife and five year-old son, Peter. The next year, they had another son, Nathaniel Robert.
Nathaniel Benchley worked as a freelance writer –and painter- for the next 36 years. He wrote novels, plays, short stories, reviews, movie scripts and a very popular biography of the actor Humphrey Bogart. Much of his material was drawn from his life in New York and Nantucket, MA, where the family had a summer home. He found the small town life in Nantucket was rich in characters and material for adventures. He wrote a book titled The Off-Islanders, which was later made into a successful movie called "The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!" It was the story of a Russian submarine run aground on a small New England island. Several of his other books were also made into movies.
His sideline as a painter of landscapes led to his participation in many gallery showings.
Mr. Benchley used his fascination with history to create a series of books for beginning and teen readers. His particular interest was in taking a moment in history and examining it through the eyes of a young boy. He told stories about the Vikings coming to what would later be called "America;" Native American Indians dealing with the new settlers in their land ("Small Wolf"); young boys in Colonial America ("Sam the Minuteman" and "George the Drummer Boy") and the movement west; and a young boy who joins the Navy during World War II.
He also wrote a series of books for very beginning readers, many of which were about animals and their special bonds with humans ("Red Fox and His Canoe," "Oscar Otter").
He was always proudest of the letters he got from young readers who had identified with one of his characters and wanted to ask questions raised by their reading. He personally answered every letter he got from his readers.
In 1974, his son, Peter, published his first novel, Jaws, based on his experiences fishing off Nantucket in his youth (and a healthy imagination).
For the last many years of his life, Nathaniel Benchley lived in Nantucket with his wife.
Nathaniel Benchley lived by the motto: "A craftsman is one who does what he is given to do better than others feel is necessary."He died in Boston, MA, in 1981.
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Book Description Condition: Good. Sandin, Joan (illustrator). Rei. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 219418-6
Book Description Condition: Very Good. Sandin, Joan (illustrator). Rei. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 17255151-6
Book Description Condition: Good. Sandin, Joan (illustrator). Rei. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 219418-6
Book Description hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Sandin, Joan (illustrator). Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_376189521
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Sandin, Joan (illustrator). Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.47. Seller Inventory # G0060204915I3N00
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Sandin, Joan (illustrator). Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.47. Seller Inventory # G0060204915I3N10
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Sandin, Joan (illustrator). Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.47. Seller Inventory # G0060204915I3N10
Book Description hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Sandin, Joan (illustrator). Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_390128568
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Sandin, Joan (illustrator). A young Native American boy sets out to hunt on Manhattan Island and discovers some strange people with white faces and very different ideas about land. Due to age and/or environmental conditions, the pages of this book have darkened. Former library book. Ex-Libris and is stamped as such. Moderate edgewear on the boards. Moderate shelf wear. Badly faded due to exposure to sunlight. Please note the image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item. Ex-Library. Seller Inventory # 123592568
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Joan Sandin (illustrator). An I Can Read Book. Color illustration on cover. Int. good. Color illustrations. 64 pages. Usual library markings and flaws. Seller Inventory # 144368B