R.I.P. Allan Eckert

Allan W. Eckert, one of Ohio's--and the nation's--foremost historical writers and a noted American naturalist, died this past Thursday. Eckert was the author of The Frontiersmen, one of the six volumes of The Winning of America; Blue Jacket, the story of the white man who became the greatest Shawnee warrior-chief; Tecumseh; a number of young adult historical novels, includingThe Court Martial of Daniel Boone and Johnny Logan, Shawnee Spy.

The long-running (since the seventies) outdoor dramas, Blue Jacket and Tecumseh, were adapted from Eckert's books. Nominated seven times for the Pulitzer Prize, Eckert was also a poet, short story writer, and television writer. He developed over 225 tv shows for Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom" series. He also designed and wrote for Writer's Digest magazine their popular correspondence courses entitled The Writer's Digest Course in Article Writing and The Writer's Digest Course in Short Story Writing.

Dr. Eckert was one of the first historical novelists I read who made me want to write historical fiction.

You can read more about his inspiring life and career here:  http://www.allaneck.com/bio.html

BJ