His breakthrough came with White Noise (1985), a darkly comic meditation on consumer culture and environmental disaster that won the National Book Award. Libra (1988), a speculative account of the Kennedy assassination through Lee Harvey Oswald, solidified his reputation. Mao II (1991), winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, examined the power of writers and crowds in modern society. His masterpiece, Underworld (1997), a sprawling epic spanning the Cold War years, is widely regarded as one of the finest American novels of the twentieth century. Later works include Falling Man (2007), addressing the aftermath of 9/11, and Zero K (2016). In 2000, he received the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
Don DeLillo
Don DeLillo (born November 20, 1936, in New York City) is one of the most celebrated American novelists of the postmodern era. Raised in the Bronx by Italian immigrant parents, he began his literary career with the novel Americana (1971) after working in advertising. Over five decades, DeLillo has established himself as a keen chronicler of American life, exploring themes of technology, media saturation, consumerism, terrorism, and the Cold War. His prose is celebrated for its precision, rhythm, and philosophical depth.