>>
do.
>>>
and now to the death of reclusive author
j.d. salinger
, one of the most influential
american writers
of all time. he died at his new hampshire home on wednesday, leaving behind a horde of unpublished works. if you really want to hear about
j.d. salinger
, the first thing you'll probably
need to know
is he was an intensely private man who died at his home in new hampshire at the age of 91. his
full name
was
jerome david salinger
. and while he wrote a few collections of short stories, he was best known for his only novel, "the
catcher in the rye
." * released in
1951
,
salinger
's book still resonates with readers today.
>>
i think i read it in sixth grade and then reread it every year until i was 20. it's just the first thing i ever read that felt honest. *
sometimes i feel
like "the
catcher in the rye
" *
>>
reporter: "the
catcher in the rye
" is a symbol of youth, rebellion and the societal contradictions of
american life
.
>>
i took it in a bag to a coffee mat in the
middle of the night
and printed up 110 copies. even the cover looked like "the
catcher in the rye
."
>>
what you reading?
>>
"the
catcher in the rye
." i'm named after it.
>>
whose "the
catcher in the rye
" is this?
>>
let's see now. if it has my name on it, then i guess it's mine.
>>
at times controversial, the colt of catcher turned murderous in
1980
when chapman killed
john lennon
and blamed the book.
salinger
was married three times and is survived by two children.
>>
he said he always knew he wanted to be a writer.
>>
reporter: a notable chapter in his life was an affair with
joyce maynard
, who after exchanging letters and phone calls with the author dropped out of college at the age of 18 to live with the then 53-year-old.
>>
i had felt alienated and outside of
normal life
in many ways for all of my 18 years, and here was this person who said me too, come with me, we're alike.
>>
always a top seller, in his memory, "the
catcher in the rye
" is moving up sales charts today.
>>
i think it appeals to everyone.
>>
readers taking comfort in the novel's antihero,
holden caufield
, whose take on death is classic
salinger
. "boy, when you're dead, they really fix you up. i hope the hell when i do die, somebody has the sense enough to dump me in a river or something, anything except sticking me in a cemetery. people coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on sunday and all that crap. who wants flowers when you're dead? nobody." we were just saying how we all have our original copies for when we read it.
>>
at home. i read a lot of books as a kid, but mostly
sports books
, and when i read that book, i felt proud that i had read a
real book
.
>>
a
real book
.
>>
a real one.
>>
you haven't done that since, have you?
>>
no. i've read that same book
over and over
again. now it's on tape.
>>
and it's weird to see your children, yours will be reading it soon. mine have read it.
>>
yeah.
>>
it's a real loss of a brilliant author. back in a moment.
>>>
still ahead, the search for
“ ”