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Karl Marlantes

Karl Marlantes is the author of “Matterhor: A Novel of the Vietnam War,” a New York Times bestseller, published in 2010. The New York Times declared Matterhorn ”one of the most profound and devastating novels ever to come out of Vietnam.”  “Matterhorn received the 2011 Washington State Book Award in the Fiction category.

Marlantes received a National Merit Scholarship to attend Yale University and was then a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.  He served as a Marine inVietnam, where he was awarded the Navy Cross, the Bronze Star, two Navy Commendation Medals for valor, two Purple Hearts, and ten air medals.

Upon returning home from service, Marlantes began work on an epic war novel that would capture his combat experiences. Thirty years later, in 2010 – after decades of discouraging setbacks, criticism and agent rejection notes –“Matterhorn” finally exploded onto the publishing scene. Hailed by The New York Times as “one of the most profound and devastating novels to come out of Vietnam, or any war,” Marlantes’ debut novel earned rave critical praise.

Marlantes recently published a new nonfiction book, “What It is Like to Go To War.”

Marlantes currently resides inWestern Washington.

In November 2010, Marlantes appeared with the National Writers Series with guest interviewer, Philip Caputo, author of “Rumor of War,” and nine other books, for a riveting discussion about war, redemption, and what we can learn from war.