Catcher-22

Here is an excerpt from Eric Hanson's wonderful A Book of Ages, in which he recounts facts about famous and infamous people at specific ages, from the chapter titled Twenty-Two:

J. D. Salinger is dating Oona O'Neill, the daughter of the famous playwright, 1941. For a time he and a friend named Holden are employed as entertainers aboard the Caribbean cruise ship MS Kungsholm. Among their duties: arranging deck tennis competitions and being available to dance with unescorted ladies. In November, he sells his first story to The New Yorker magazine. It's a sad little Christmas story about a kid named Holden Caufield. The magazine plans to run "Slight Rebellion Off Madison" in late December, but when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, the story suddenly seems trivial. Salinger is drafted into the army. Oona O'Neil breaks up with him and begins dating Charlie Chaplin.

Quite an eventful year for J. D. Sounds like enough to make a man into a recluse!