Johnny Got His Gun

Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905–September 10, 1976) was among the most prolific and important literary figures of his time. One of the famous Hollywood Ten, he refused to testify about his alleged communist affiliations before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. Blacklisted from the film industry and charged with contempt of Congress, he served an 11-month prison sentence. Johnny Got His Gun, the most highly acclaimed work of Trumbo’s extraordinary career, won a National Book Award (then known as an American Book Sellers Award) in 1939. The idea for the novel came to Trumbo after he learned of a British soldier who was seriously injured during World War I. In 2015 the acclaimed film Trumbo, starring Bryan Cranston, spurred renewed interest in the author’s life and works.