Alistair MacLean

Alistair MacLean (1922-1987) was a Scottish author of popular thrillers and adventure stories. His best-known works include The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra, and Where Eagles Dare, all of which were the basis formajor motion pictures. He was the son of a minister brought up in the Scottish Highlands. In 1941 he joined the Royal Navy. After the war he read English at Glasgow University and became a teacher. Two and a half years spent aboard a wartime cruiser gave him the background for HMS Ulysses, his remarkably successful first novel, published in 1955. His books are estimated to have sold over 150 million copies. He is now recognized as one of the outstanding popular writers of the twentieth century, the author of 29 worldwide bestsellers, many of which have been filmed.