MacKinlay Kantor
MacKinlay Kantor , born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor, was an American journalist, novelist and screenwriter. He wrote more thannovels, several set during the American Civil War, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1956 for his 1955 novel, Andersonville. He also wrote Gettysburg, set during the Civil War.
Benjamin McKinlay Kantor was born and grew up in Webster City, Iowa, the second child and only son in his family. He had a sister Virginia. His mother, Effie Kantor, worked as the editor of the Webster City Daily News during part of his childhood. His father, John Martin Kantor, was a nativeborn Swedish Jew descended from a long line of rabbis, who posed as a Protestant clergyman. His mother was of English, Irish, Scottish, and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. The boys were raised as Protestants. Kantors father had trouble keeping jobs and abandoned the family before Benjamin was born. His mother returned to her parents in Webster City, Mr. and Mrs. Adam McKinlay, to live at their home with her children.
Source: Wikipedia