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William Goldman

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William Goldman


Born
in Highland Park, Illinois, The United States
August 12, 1931

Died
November 16, 2018

Website

Genre

Influences
Irwin Shaw, Ingmar Bergman, Ross Macdonald, Ira Levin, Stephen King ...more


Goldman grew up in a Jewish family in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, and obtained a BA degree at Oberlin College in 1952 and an MA degree at Columbia University in 1956.His brother was the late James Goldman, author and playwright.

William Goldman had published five novels and had three plays produced on Broadway before he began to write screenplays. Several of his novels he later used as the foundation for his screenplays.

In the 1980s he wrote a series of memoirs looking at his professional life on Broadway and in Hollywood (in one of these he famously remarked that "Nobody knows anything"). He then returned to writing novels. He then adapted his novel The Princess Bride to the screen, which marked his re-entry into screenwriti
...more

Average rating: 4.26 · 1,011,450 ratings · 35,475 reviews · 86 distinct works • Similar authors
The Princess Bride

4.27 avg rating — 964,819 ratings — published 1973 — 4 editions
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Marathon Man

4.11 avg rating — 21,967 ratings — published 1974 — 93 editions
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Adventures in the Screen Tr...

4.13 avg rating — 8,700 ratings — published 1983 — 41 editions
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Which Lie Did I Tell?: More...

4.03 avg rating — 2,882 ratings — published 2000 — 22 editions
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Magic

3.69 avg rating — 2,177 ratings — published 1976 — 34 editions
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The Silent Gondoliers

3.85 avg rating — 1,912 ratings — published 1983 — 4 editions
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The Temple of Gold

3.84 avg rating — 1,262 ratings — published 1957 — 23 editions
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Boys and Girls Together

3.69 avg rating — 1,052 ratings — published 1964 — 27 editions
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The Princess Bride Deluxe L...

4.16 avg rating — 920 ratings — published 2025
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Butch Cassidy and the Sunda...

4.29 avg rating — 557 ratings — published 1968 — 17 editions
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More books by William Goldman…
Marathon Man Brothers
(2 books)
by
4.09 avg rating — 22,560 ratings

Related News

Looking for a new thrill? A twisty page-turner? Well, the hottest new mysteries and thrillers published so far this year promise to keep...
91 likes · 13 comments
Quotes by William Goldman  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
― William Goldman, Four Screenplays with Essays: Marathon Man - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - The Princess Bride - Misery

“When I was your age, television was called books.”
― William Goldman, The Princess Bride

“Life isn't fair, it's just fairer than death, that's all.”
― William Goldman, The Princess Bride

Polls

142455
Vote For 1 Book For December 2016- Top 2 Win

The Princess Bride The Princess Bride  by William Goldman by William Goldman
What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams?
 
  4 votes 26.7%

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban I Am Malala The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai by Malala Yousafzai
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.
 
  3 votes 20.0%

The Painted Girls The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan by Cathy Marie Buchanan
Set at a moment of profound artistic, cultural, and societal change, The Painted Girls is a tale of two remarkable sisters rendered uniquely vulnerable to the darker impulses of “civilized society.”
 
  3 votes 20.0%

Paper Angels Paper Angels by Jimmy Wayne by Jimmy Wayne
This is the story about a man and a boy one December. A man whose life is changed by a simple expression of kindness, and a boy who takes that expression of kindness and shows the true meaning of Christmas.
 
  2 votes 13.3%

Skipping Christmas Skipping Christmas by John Grisham by John Grisham
A classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that has become part of our holiday tradition.
 
  2 votes 13.3%

Homegoing Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi by Yaa Gyasi
The unforgettable New York Times best seller begins with the story of two half-sisters, separated by forces beyond their control: one sold into slavery, the other married to a British slaver. Written with tremendous sweep and power, Homegoing traces the generations of family who follow, as their destinies lead them through two continents and three hundred years of history, each life indelibly drawn, as the legacy of slavery is fully revealed in light of the present day.
 
  1 vote 6.7%

Leaving Blythe River Leaving Blythe River by Catherine Ryan Hyde by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Seventeen-year-old Ethan Underwood is totally unprepared to search for his father in the Blythe River National Wilderness. Not only is he small, scrawny, and skittish but he’s barely speaking to the man after a traumatic betrayal. Yet when his father vanishes from their remote cabin and rangers abandon the rescue mission, suddenly it’s up to Ethan to keep looking. Angry or not, he’s his father’s only hope
 
  0 votes 0.0%

Shelter Us Shelter Us by Laura Nicole Diamond by Laura Nicole Diamond

Shelter Us speaks to the quiet joys and anxieties of parenthood, and illuminates the place all parents know: that shadowy space between unconditional love and fear of unbearable loss.
 
  0 votes 0.0%

Shiver Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater by Maggie Stiefvater
For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without.
 
  0 votes 0.0%

The Flower Arrangement The Flower Arrangement by Ella Griffin by Ella Griffin
Golden peonies bowing their heads beneath blue delphinium bells. Delicate pink anemones threaded between freckled green orchids. Soft apricot roses woven together with velvety purple irises. Every bouquet tells a story. And every story begins at Blossom & Grow, a tiny jewel-like flower shop in the heart of Dublin. Here, among the buckets of fragrant blooms, beneath the flickering candles and lanterns, Lara works her magic.
 
  0 votes 0.0%

The Language of Flowers The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.
 
  0 votes 0.0%

The Pearl That Broke Its Shell The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi by Nadia Hashimi
Crisscrossing in time, The Pearl the Broke Its Shell interweaves the tales of these two women separated by a century who share similar destinies. But what will happen once Rahima is of marriageable age? Will Shekiba always live as a man? And if Rahima cannot adapt to life as a bride, how will she survive?
 
  0 votes 0.0%

15 total votes
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