Democracy Dies in Darkness

Norman Mailer, blustery force in life and letters, dies at 84

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November 11, 2007 at 6:49 p.m. EST
In December 1960, Norman Mailer appeared in a New York City court after stabbing his second wife, Adele Morales Mailer, the month before. She recovered and declined to press charges; they eventually divorced. (Anthony Camerano/AP)

Norman Mailer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author who wrote compellingly about sex and violence, conflict and politics, and love and war as the tempests of his personal life complemented the turbulence of his prose, died yesterday at 84.

Mailer, who died of kidney failure at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, achieved literary fame at 25 with his first novel, “The Naked and the Dead,” based on his experiences during World War II with the Army in the Pacific. The book led the New York Times bestseller list for 19 weeks in 1948 and 1949 and was made into a movie.