Robert Jordan

Author profile

born

in Charleston, South Carolina, The United States

October 17, 1948

died

September 16, 2007

gender

male

genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy

About this author

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reily.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After g...more Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reily.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After graduating he was employed by the United States Navy as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting.

He described himself as a "High Church" Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week.[7] He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797.

Responding to queries on the similarity of some of the concepts in his Wheel of Time books with Freemasonry concepts, Jordan admitted that he was a Freemason. However, "like his father and grandfather," he preferred not to advertise, possibly because of the negative propaganda against Freemasonry. In his own words, "no man in this country should feel in danger because of his beliefs."

On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, and that with treatment, his median life expectancy was four years, though he said he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life.

He began chemotherapy treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma but not yet tested on primary amyloidosis.

Jordan died at approximately 2:45 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2007, and a funeral service was held for him on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston.
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Robert Jordan's Books

Average rating: 4.09 · 752,340 ratings · 19,042 reviews · 138 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time, #1) 4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 102,861 ratings — published 1990 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Great Hunt (Wheel of Time, #2) 4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 84,467 ratings — published 1990 — 48 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dragon Reborn (Wheel of Time, #3) 4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 76,987 ratings — published 1991 — 43 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Shadow Rising (Wheel of Time, #4) 4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 61,261 ratings — published 1992 — 41 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time, #12; A Memory of Light, #1) by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author) 4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 45,593 ratings — published 2009 — 25 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lord of Chaos (Wheel of Time, #6) 4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 44,827 ratings — published 1994 — 32 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fires of Heaven (Wheel of Time, #5) 4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 45,885 ratings — published 1993 — 43 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Towers of Midnight (Wheel of Time, #13; A Memory of Light, #2) by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author) 4.4 of 5 stars 4.40 avg rating — 38,975 ratings — published 2010 — 23 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Crown of Swords (Wheel of Time, #7) 3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 41,669 ratings — published 1996 — 36 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Path of Daggers (Wheel of Time, #8) 3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 38,952 ratings — published 1998 — 38 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Robert Jordan…

Series by Robert Jordan

Wheel of Time (17 books)
by Robert Jordan
4.093833865154136 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 725,495 ratings

A Memory of Light (3 books)
by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)
4.369989764170543 of 5 stars 4.37 avg rating — 98,673 ratings

Wheel of Time (La Roue du Temps) (19 books)
by Robert Jordan, Mila López (Translator)
3.862009617818274 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 39,510 ratings

Sagan om Drakens återkomst (23 books)
by Robert Jordan
3.9971862124409605 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 29,853 ratings

Wheel of Time (Das Rad der Zeit) (33 books)
by Robert Jordan, Uwe Luserke (Übersetzer)
4.190626408292023 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 8,876 ratings

More series by Robert Jordan…

Quotes by Robert Jordan

“Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this. Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.”
― Robert Jordan

tags: forgiveness, men, women

1,933 people liked it

“The Creator made women to please the eye, and to boggle the mind.”
― Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time: Boxed Set

tags: women

436 people liked it

“Almost dead yesterday, maybe dead tomorrow, but alive, gloriously alive, today. -- Mat Cauthon”
― Robert Jordan

292 people liked it

See all Robert Jordan's quotes »

Polls

APRIL FANTASY: This poll decides which two novels move on to the run-off polls for our April Fantasy Book of the Month!

The Lions of al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

24 votes, 24.2%

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

20 votes, 20.2%

Jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny

19 votes, 19.2%

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

12 votes, 12.1%

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart

12 votes, 12.1%

The Etched City by K.J. Bishop

7 votes, 7.1%

Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler

5 votes, 5.1%

99 total votes

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Challenge: 50 Books: Kez's 50 Books in a Year	22	165	Jun 03, 2009 05:54am

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Robert Jordan

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Robert Jordan

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Quotes by Robert Jordan

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combine editions
Robert Jordan's Books