Jump to content
Grim Reaper

Herman Wouk

Recommended Posts

The Herman Wouk thread

 

 

Great author. Why this year as opposed to last?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The Herman Wouk thread

 

 

Great author. Why this year as opposed to last?

 

Erm..... 'cos he didn't die last year?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The Herman Wouk thread

 

 

Great author. Why this year as opposed to last?

 

Erm..... 'cos he didn't die last year?

Oh....

 

 

 

Any rates, here I am late to this party; but, time to connect in on old Herman. His former neighbor sailed out recently, citing him as her favorite author

 

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainm...a_lifelong.html

 

 

 

 

You've probably noticed that Nancy has been doing the heavy lifting here for lately, while I've been dealing with the death of my mother-in-law, Shirley Feldman. We often highlight the passing of well-known authors -- J.D. Salinger, John Updike, Lucille Clifton et al. Now I'll take the liberty of mentioning Shirley too, because -- in addition to her other notable qualities -- she was a life-long reader.

 

She grew up in the New York apartment building that was home to Herman Wouk, so he was always a favorite author. She favored historical fiction, and was always asking me for recommendations on the latest novels. She also loved art, and I still have many books from her trips to museums around the world. (She's probably also the source for my family's Francophile tendencies.) Until she passed away last week at 90, she kept a book near her chair and was a faithful borrower at the Baltimore County bookmobile that visited her senior living center.

 

 

 

Herman scheduled to be 95 this year was said to be "out for a wouk", when the news came in.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great thread :rolleyes:

 

Betty Sarah Wouk, 90, the wife and literary agent of Herman Wouk has died aged 90. Will her 96 year old widower survive the loss? Time will tell....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Guest
Great thread :rolleyes:

 

Betty Sarah Wouk, 90, the wife and literary agent of Herman Wouk has died aged 90. Will her 96 year old widower survive the loss? Time will tell....

hard to say.He could be gone within days.Or he could linger for years.Depends on the closeness of their relationship I guess

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Great thread :rolleyes:

 

Betty Sarah Wouk, 90, the wife and literary agent of Herman Wouk has died aged 90. Will her 96 year old widower survive the loss? Time will tell....

hard to say.He could be gone within days.Or he could linger for years.Depends on the closeness of their relationship I guess

 

It think that question was somewhat rhetorical...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yesterday was Herman's 97th birthday- he also has a new novel out. He appears to be in good mental health, but no word on his physical condition.

 

Sorry for the useless post- I suppose some news is better than no news.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Still one of my favorite authors. I didn't understand this pick 2 years ago. Given the traffic on his page, I'm not sure how sexy a pick he is at number 19. As Mr. Wallach and Dunn have proved picking old dudes is a game for patient gamesters. You got Ray Bradbury. Is Harper Lee sick? Gore Vidal was in much worse shape. You guys are certainly well read. There are some authors that like to drink that might be more interesting. Still, given the committment to the pick, I think you have to see this until the end.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Still one of my favorite authors. I didn't understand this pick 2 years ago. Given the traffic on his page, I'm not sure how sexy a pick he is at number 19. As Mr. Wallach and Dunn have proved picking old dudes is a game for patient gamesters. You got Ray Bradbury. Is Harper Lee sick? Gore Vidal was in much worse shape. You guys are certainly well read. There are some authors that like to drink that might be more interesting. Still, given the committment to the pick, I think you have to see this until the end.

 

Curses. I saw this thread lit up (not exactly popular) along with the 9th Death thread in the main forum. I though for sure he had carked it! You got my morbid hopes up, damn you.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Still one of my favorite authors. I didn't understand this pick 2 years ago. Given the traffic on his page, I'm not sure how sexy a pick he is at number 19. As Mr. Wallach and Dunn have proved picking old dudes is a game for patient gamesters. You got Ray Bradbury. Is Harper Lee sick? Gore Vidal was in much worse shape. You guys are certainly well read. There are some authors that like to drink that might be more interesting. Still, given the committment to the pick, I think you have to see this until the end.

 

Curses. I saw this thread lit up (not exactly popular) along with the 9th Death thread in the main forum. I though for sure he had carked it! You got my morbid hopes up, damn you.

 

Lol I thought the very same when I logged on over breakfast. I was all ready to vote on the 10th death.

 

"Morbid hopes" dashed :(

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Still one of my favorite authors. I didn't understand this pick 2 years ago. Given the traffic on his page, I'm not sure how sexy a pick he is at number 19. As Mr. Wallach and Dunn have proved picking old dudes is a game for patient gamesters. You got Ray Bradbury. Is Harper Lee sick? Gore Vidal was in much worse shape. You guys are certainly well read. There are some authors that like to drink that might be more interesting. Still, given the committment to the pick, I think you have to see this until the end.

 

Harper Lee has been reported to have deteriorated in recent years, being almost completely deaf and blind, and wheelchair-bound. And I don't remember hearing too much about Vidal's health in recent years.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Still one of my favorite authors. I didn't understand this pick 2 years ago. Given the traffic on his page, I'm not sure how sexy a pick he is at number 19. As Mr. Wallach and Dunn have proved picking old dudes is a game for patient gamesters. You got Ray Bradbury. Is Harper Lee sick? Gore Vidal was in much worse shape. You guys are certainly well read. There are some authors that like to drink that might be more interesting. Still, given the committment to the pick, I think you have to see this until the end.

 

The age he's at, could well die in his sleep and no one would bat an eyelid, Ernest Borgnine appeared as healthy as a 95 year old could be and then just one day - gone. So is well worth a punt

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

From a recent interview with New York Times.

 

 

“I may be old, but I’m still aware of things,” he said, noting that he had been using the Internet for years to keep in touch with friends and family. “I will admit that I can’t really do text messaging yet,” he said. (Notice the “yet.”)

For 97, Mr. Wouk is remarkably active. His personal trainer comes on Mondays and Thursdays; a yoga instructor swings by on Tuesdays and Fridays. And don’t, whatever you do, ask if he ever plans to stop writing.

“What am I going to do?” he said. “Sit around and wait a year?”

He acknowledged, though, that he occasionally worried what was left to say.

“Sometimes, when I’m down, I feel like I’ve shot my bolt,” he said. “But it passes, and I go back to the computer.”

In fact, his next book is already well under way. “I have written a large section, of which I will tell you nothing,” he said, smiling.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest theGraveYardLover

Herman Wouk seems to be in quite good mental shape, and fairly-good for someone his age, people. He might make the century makr, or might just quietly move out in his sleep anytime. really difficult to tell w.many these his age.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

WOUK NOT DEAD YET

 

Lets pick some Nobel Prize winners for literature? I'm as currious how is Thomas Transtromer's heath? At least he's been traslated...Le Clezio has never been widely translated; Will he get an English obit? I know....words....words...words....Shit I only wanted to see if he was dead. Or is he very shortly to be?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

WOUK NOT DEAD YET

 

Lets pick some Nobel Prize winners for literature? I'm as currious how is Thomas Transtromer's heath? At least he's been traslated...Le Clezio has never been widely translated; Will he get an English obit? I know....words....words...words....Shit I only wanted to see if he was dead. Or is he very shortly to be?

 

Although it might be interesting to have some Nobel Prize winners such as Tomas Tranströmer, that might work as a thread of its own. And then one could be created for Pulitzer Prize winners such as Mr. Wouk who I am sure has also been translated into a few languages. Maybe in the upcoming year he will expire or perhaps he can continue on to at least 100 which would be nice.

A search found that a Nobel Prize thread does indeed exist already.

 

Nobel Prize In Death - DeathList Forum

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Someone to challenge Javier Perez de Cuellar in 2015 for DL pick who will have the least amount of posts in their thread.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am glad to see Herman back on the list as he is a good pick.I think personally though that number 4 is a bit too high for him as he has no obvious health issues like others lower on the list.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

100 today! Happy Birthday. :party::birthday:

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Does this really mean that 3 of the picks share the same birthday. Wow

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hmm.. a more complicated case than the typical "Birthday problem":

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem

 

Statistically, it's more likely than not that two people of the same group share the same birthday if the group contains more than 23 people. With three people, the required number is 88:

http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/485462/birthday-problem-for-3-people

 

One should actually expect that in a list with 50 people, at least two share the same birthday. Three people however is an unlikely but still not extraordinary event.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Even this Wiki article threw up a coincidence for me...

 

In fiction[edit]

Arthur C. Clarke's novel A Fall of Moondust, published in 1961, contains a section where the main characters, trapped underground for an indefinite amount of time, are celebrating a birthday and find themselves discussing the validity of the Birthday problem. As stated by a physicist passenger: "If you have a group of more than twenty-four people, the odds are better than even that two of them have the same birthday." Eventually, out of 22 present, it is revealed that two characters share the same birthday, May 23.

 

That's my birthday too!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest awesome guest

Hmm.. a more complicated case than the typical "Birthday problem":

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem

 

Statistically, it's more likely than not that two people of the same group share the same birthday if the group contains more than 23 people. With three people, the required number is 88:

http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/485462/birthday-problem-for-3-people

 

One should actually expect that in a list with 50 people, at least two share the same birthday. Three people however is an unlikely but still not extraordinary event.

is there any chance anyone on this site might have the same birthday

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×

Important Information

Your use of this forum is subject to our Terms of Use