John O’Hara (1905–1970) was one of the most prominent American writers of the twentieth century. Championed by Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Dorothy Parker, he wrote seventeen novels, including Appointment in Samarra, his first; BUtterfield 8, which was made into a film starring Elizabeth Taylor; Pal Joey, which was adapted into a Broadway musical as well as a film starring Frank Sinatra; and Ten North Frederick, which won the National Book Award. He has had more stories published in The New Yorker than anyone else in the history of the magazine. Born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, he lived for many years in New York and in Princeton, New Jersey, where he died.

Charles McGrath (introducer) is the former editor of The New York Times Book Review and former deputy editor of The New Yorker. He is currently a writer at large for The New York Times.

Neil Gower (cover illustrator) is an internationally acclaimed graphic artist. He spent ten years as a contributing artist to Condé Nast Traveler and has provided art for major publishing houses and for such magazines as The New Yorker, The Economist, and Vanity Fair. He lives in Sussex, England. - (Penguin Putnam)