Leon Uris

Leon Uris (1924–2003) was an American novelist whose popular historical fiction, including Exodus, portrayed Jewish history, war, and national identity.

Connect

Exodus: Leon Uris’s 1958 novel follows Jewish refugees and the founding of Israel. This best-known novel brought Uris international fame and shaped popular perceptions of Israel’s founding.
World War II: World War II was a global conflict fought from 1939 to 1945. Uris served in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific during the war.
Historical novel: A historical novel is a work of fiction set in a recognizable period of the past. This form lets Uris connect invented personal lives with documented events.
Exodus (film): Exodus is a 1960 film adaptation of Leon Uris’s novel, directed by Otto Preminger. The film carried the novel’s account of Israel’s founding to a mass audience.
Mila 18: Leon Uris’s 1961 novel depicts the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during the Holocaust. Uris applies his documentary-style historical storytelling to Jewish resistance under Nazi occupation.
United States Marine Corps: The United States Marine Corps is a military service responsible for expeditionary and amphibious operations. His wartime service supplied firsthand material for Battle Cry.
Documentary research: Documentary research uses records, testimony, and other evidence to establish details about real events. Uris researched historical settings and events to ground his novels’ expansive narratives.
Israeli independence: Israeli independence was declared on May 14, 1948, establishing the State of Israel. Exodus helped popularize a dramatic narrative of the events leading to independence.
Trinity: Leon Uris’s 1976 novel traces Irish history through generations of a fictional family. This novel extends Uris’s historical sweep from Jewish experience to Irish nationalism.
Baltimore: Baltimore is a major city in Maryland, United States. Uris was born and raised in Baltimore, in a Jewish immigrant family.