Gary Paulsen
author profile
born
May 17, 1939
place of birth
The United States
website
genre
Literature & Fiction, Outdoors & Nature
about this author
Although he was never a dedicated student, Paulsen developed a passion for reading at an early age. After a librarian gave him a book to read--along with his own library card--he was hooked. He began spending hours alone in the basement of his apartment building, reading one book after another.
Running away from home at the age of 14 and traveling with a carnival, Paulsen acquired a taste for adventure. A youthful summer of rigorous chores on a farm; jobs as an engineer, construction worker, ranch hand, truck driver, and sailor; and two rounds of the 1,180-mile Alaskan dog sled race, the Iditarod; have provided ample material from which he creates his stories.
Paulsen and his wife, Ruth Wright Paulsen, an artist who h...more
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avg rating: 3.70
| 29,648 ratings
| 3,592 reviews
| 229 distinct works
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64 fans
More books by Gary Paulsen…
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Hatchet by Gary Paulsen avg rating 3.62 — 14,881 ratings — published 1987 45 editions |
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Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen avg rating 3.83 — 1,563 ratings — published 1996 13 editions |
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The River (Laurel Leaf Books) by Gary Paulsen avg rating 3.59 — 1,264 ratings — published 1991 19 editions |
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Brian's Return by Gary Paulsen avg rating 3.77 — 790 ratings — published 1999 8 editions |
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Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen avg rating 4.21 — 604 ratings — published 1994 9 editions |
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Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen avg rating 3.75 — 604 ratings — published 1993 6 editions |
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Brian's Hunt by Gary Paulsen avg rating 3.82 — 576 ratings — published 2003 9 editions |
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Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen avg rating 4.20 — 491 ratings — published 1993 5 editions |
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Dogsong by Gary Paulsen avg rating 3.53 — 508 ratings — published 1985 16 editions |
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Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen avg rating 3.59 — 439 ratings — published 2007 5 editions |
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upcoming events
No scheduled events.
"I owe everything I am and everything I will ever be to books."
— Gary Paulsen (Shelf Life: Stories by the Book)
— Gary Paulsen (Shelf Life: Stories by the Book)
"All the luck in the world has to come every year, in every part of every year, or there is not a harvest and then the luck, the bad luck will come and everything we are, all that we can ever be, all the Einsteins and babies and love and hate, all the joy and sadness and sex and wanting and liking and disliking, all the soft summer breezes on cheeks and first snowflakes, all the Van Goghs and Rembrandts and Mozarts and Mahlers and Thomas Jeffersons and Lincolns and Ghandis and Jesus Christs, all the Cleopatras and lovemaking and riches and achievements and progress, all of that, every single damn thing that we are or ever will be is dependent on six inches of topsoil and the fact that the rain comes when it's needed and does not come when it is not needed; everything, every...single...thing comes with that luck."
— Gary Paulsen (Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass)
— Gary Paulsen (Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass)
tags:
luck
11 people liked it
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