I heard a wonderful piece on him on NPR, Peter. It said he didn't really hit the big until about 10 years ago, money and fame-wise. That means there's hope for all of us, huh?

Along with clips from an interview, they also gave some of his early history, including his real last name, Russ, and that he'd abandoned his wife and child who had spina bifada.

Other info said he'd been called the greatest novelist of this century (20th) and compared him to some pretty heavy hitters.