Also by William Wharton.

Also by William Wharton. Aw, come on, Birdy! This is Al here, all the way from Dix.

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Read Birdy, by William Wharton online on Bookmate – An extraordinary story of war and friendship from one of America’s most revered authors of the 20th Century Two teenagers form an unlikely friends.

Read Birdy, by William Wharton online on Bookmate – An extraordinary story of war and friendship from one of America’s most revered authors of the 20th Century Two teenagers form an unlikely friend. An extraordinary story of war and friendship from one of America’s most revered authors of the 20th Century Two teenagers form an unlikely friendship in pre-War Philadelphia. Al is obsessed with lifting weights, looking good and chasing girls. Birdy is obsessed with flight. Birdy’s passion becomes all-encompassing. Birdy wants to fly. A few years later these young men find themselves emotionally and physically scarred by Word War Two.

Birdy is the debut novel of William Wharton, who was more than 50 years old when it was published. National Book Award in category First Novel. Birdy was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1980, ultimately losing to The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer. Birdy was adapted as a film of the same name, directed by Alan Parker and starring Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage. Naomi Wallace, a poet and playwright, adapted Birdy for the stage in 1997.

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Obituary: Writer and painter whose novel Birdy drew on his own wartime experiences. When William Wharton's first novel, Birdy, was published in 1979, he was already 53 years old, an American expatriate painter living in Paris. But his identity remained a mystery, because Wharton, who has died aged 82, chose that name as a pseudonym for his writing, while painting under his real name, Albert du Aime. The Wharton persona was soon the better known, as Birdy became an instant bestseller, won the American Book award for best first novel, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer prize.

William Wharton, a successful impressionist painter who at 53 published his first novel, Birdy, which won a National Book Award, became a critically acclaimed movie and led to a dozen more books, died Wednesday in Encinitas, Calif

William Wharton, a successful impressionist painter who at 53 published his first novel, Birdy, which won a National Book Award, became a critically acclaimed movie and led to a dozen more books, died Wednesday in Encinitas, Calif. He was 82. The cause was an infection Mr. Wharton contracted while being hospitalized for blood-pressure problems, said his son Matt du Aime. Mr. Wharton painted under his original name, Albert du Aime

An extraordinary story of war and friendship from one of America's most revered authors of the 20th Century. Two teenagers form an unlikely friendship in pre-War Philadelphia.

An extraordinary story of war and friendship from one of America's most revered authors of the 20th Century. Birdy's passion becomes all-encompassing

William Wharton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1925. During the Second World War, Wharton served in the US army, until an injury led to his discharge. In 1978, Wharton's first novel, 'Birdy', was published to critical acclaim.

William Wharton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1925. Before his death in 2008, Wharton penned 8 further novels, and 3 memoirs. The most recent memoir, 'Shrapnel', was published for the first time in English in 2012. Country of Publication.