American · 1922–1998
William Gaddis won the National Book Award twice—for "JR" (1975) and "A Frolic of His Own" (1994). "The Recognitions" (1955), his first novel, was ignored on publication and became a cult classic. Gaddis wrote about forgery, law, capitalism, and American corruption in long, difficult novels composed largely of dialogue. He died in 1998.