“In 1957, I decided: write or perish.”

American novelist and short-story writer, Air Force officer and pilot

James Salter was an American novelist and short-story writer. He is best known under his pen name, and later legal name, James Salter. He was also a career officer and pilot in the United States Air Force, until he resigned in 1957 after the success of his first novel, The Hunters. Salter wrote fiction shaped by a life in and around military service, and his work is often associated with precision, restraint, and close attention to character and experience. His reputation rests on novels and short stories that reflect the discipline and pressure of those worlds.