“Peace is a Shy Thing” (St. Martin’s Press, 2025) by Dr. Alex Vernon, the first literary biography of noted writer Tim O’Brien--author of “The Things They Carried”—hit bookshelves May 27. Vernon is the M.E. and Ima Graves Peace Distinguished Professor of English at Hendrix College.
An author event and book signing will be held on June 4 at 6:30 p.m. at WordsWorth Books where Vernon will be in conversation with author and writer Jay Jennings, recipient of the Porter Fund Literary Prize. RSVP for the event here: wordsworthbookstore.com/form/alex-vernon-author-event-rsvp
“This book along with my recent work ‘Reading Hemingway’s ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’’ is a culmination of 25 years of studying war literature,” said Vernon. “It's also significant as my first agented, commercial, non-academic title.”
In a review from The New York Times, Vernon is praised for avoiding “the classic biographer’s curse of falling in love with his subject.” And for his “thoroughness” in finding a plethora of subjects to interview for unknown stories about O’Brien.
The Arkansas Times calls it “a must-read for lovers of American history, American literature and biographical writing.”
In 2003, the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language invited O’Brien to campus as part of its annual Visiting Writer series. Vernon shared that “our friendship started then and led, 15 years later, to O’Brien’s asking me to write his biography.”
Awarded a 12-month research fellowship by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2020—the first Hendrix faculty member to receive an award of this extent from the NEH—Vernon centered his year-long fellowship around research for a book on O’Brien, which included personal interviews, studying correspondence, and other primary documents from archival and private sources.
“Hendrix has afforded me the pleasure of regularly teaching my expertise: war literature and film, “said Vernon, “and for me, teaching and scholarship are deeply intertwined.”
Vernon taught a Murphy Scholars Tutorial “Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam” in spring of 2020, a course styled after Oxford University tutorials where small groups of students engage with a faculty member in active in-depth discussions of a specific subject. He will teach it again this spring.
“Dr. Alex Vernon's contribution to war literature and our understanding of war itself cannot be over-stated,” said Dr. Tyrone Jager, Hendrix-Murphy Foundation interim director and English department chair.
“So much of Dr. Vernon's career has been dedicated to understanding conflict and its aftereffects—from his many books on war and war literature to his many courses and co-curricular experiences, including six trips to Vietnam with Hendrix students, Dr. Vernon's research and expertise illuminates the impact of war on people, places, and cultures."
Raised in Prairie Village, Kansas, part of the Kansas City metro area, Vernon earned his B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1989 and served in the United States Army in combat in the Persian Gulf War as a tank platoon leader. He received his M.A and Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the recipient of an Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for his collaborative war memoir “The Eyes of Orion: Five Tank Lieutenants in the Persian Gulf War” (Kent State University Press, 1999).
He is also the author of such books as “Reading Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls: Glossary and Commentary” (Kent State University Press, 2024) and “On Tarzan” (University of Georgia Press, 2008); editor of “Teaching Hemingway and War” (Kent State University Press, 2015) and “Approaches to Teaching the Works of Tim O’Brien” with co-editor Catherine Calloway (Modern Language Association, 2010); and a consultant for Ken Burns’s film “Hemingway.”
Vernon has taught writing and post-1900 American literature at Hendrix College since 2001. He lives in Little Rock with spouse Christin Harper, the policy director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families; and two daughters: Anna Cay Vernon, a recent graduate from Tulane University, and Quinn Harper, a rising third grader at Pulaski Heights Elementary.
“Writers write to be read,” said Vernon, “and ‘Peace is a Shy Thing’ will undoubtedly be the most widely read of my books. I couldn't be more excited.”
About Hendrix College
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges and celebrated among the country’s leading liberal arts colleges for academic quality, engaged learning opportunities and career preparation, vibrant campus life, and value. The Hendrix College Warriors compete in 21 NCAA Division III sports. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. Learn more at www.hendrix.edu.
“… Through engagement that links the classroom with the world, and a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice, and sustainable living, the Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives of accomplishment, integrity, service, and joy.” –Hendrix College Statement of Purpose