Norman Kingsley Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007) was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, film-maker, actor and political activist. His novel
The Naked and the Dead was published in 1948. His best-known work was widely considered to be
The Executioner's Song, which was published in 1979, and for which he won one of his two
Pulitzer Prizes. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, his book
Armies of the Night was awarded the
National Book Award.