This biography draws on extensive research and exclusive interviews to share previously undisclosed aspects of the enigmatic writer's life, from his private relationships and service in World War II to his legal concerns and innermost secrets. The icon who disappeared. Raised in Park Avenue privilege, J. D. Salinger sought out combat, surviving five bloody battles of World War II and the liberation of a death camp, and out of that crucible he created a novel, The Catcher in the Rye, which journeyed deep into his own despair and redefined postwar America. For more than fifty years, Salinger has been one of the most elusive figures in American history. All of the attempts to uncover the truth about why he disappeared have been undermined by a lack of access and the recycling of inaccurate information. In the course of a nine-year investigation, and especially in the three years since Salinger's death, the authors have interviewed more than 200 people on five continents (many of whom had previously refused to go on the record) to solve the mystery of what happened to Salinger. -- From publisher description.

Brahmacharya = Apprenticeship. We're going to start the war from right here -- Slight rebellion off Park Avenue -- Conversation with Salinger #1 -- Six-feet-two of muscle and typewriter ribbon in a foxhole -- Conversation with Salinger #2 -- Inverted forest -- Conversation with Salinger #3 -- Dead men in winter -- Still burning -- Victim and perpetrator -- Measuring up -- Conversation with Salinger #4 -- The origin of Esmé -- Is the kid in this book crazy? -- We can still run away -- Conversation with Salinger #5 -- Follow the bullet: Nine Stories -- Conversation with Salinger #6. -- Garhasthya = Householder Duties. His long dark night -- A terrible, terrible fall -- Conversation with Salinger #7 -- Conversation with Salinger #8. -- Vanaprasthya = Withdrawal From Society. Seymour's second suicide -- Conversation with Salinger #9 -- Dear Miss Maynard -- Dear Mr. Salinger -- Conversation with Salinger #10 -- Conversation with Salinger #11 -- Conversation with Salinger #12 -- Assassins. -- Sannyasa = Renunciation of the World. A private citizen -- A million miles away in his tower -- Jerome David Salinger: a conclusion -- Secrets. -- Fiction in chronological order of publication -- Lost stories, uncollected stories, and published letters -- The Glass family.