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Wrongful Deaths ... by William Wharton
Książka o charakterze autobiograficznym, w której Wharton opisuje przeżycia związane ze śmiercią swojej córki, zięcia i dwóch wnuczek. Dzieli się miłością, smutkiem, gniewem oraz pragnieniem doskonałej sprawiedliwości.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
6 people are currently reading
286 people want to read
About the author
William Wharton
39 books262 followersWilliam Wharton (7 November 1925 - 29 October 2008), the pen name of the author Albert William Du Aime (pronounced as doo-EM), was an American-born author best known for his first novel Birdy, which was also successful as a film.
Wharton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1943, and was inducted into the school's Wall of Fame in 1997. He volunteered to serve in the United States Army during World War II, and was assigned to serve in a unit to be trained as engineers. He ended up being assigned to serve in the infantry and was severely wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. After his discharge, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles and received a undergraduate degree in art and a doctorate in psychology, later teaching art in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
His first novel Birdy was published in 1978 when he was more than 50 years old. Birdy was a critical and popular success, and Alan Parker directed a film version starring Nicolas Cage and Matthew Modine. After the publication of Birdy and through the early 1990s, Du Aime published eight novels, including Dad and A Midnight Clear, both of which were also filmed, the former starring Jack Lemmon.
Many of the protagonists of Wharton's novels, despite having different names and backgrounds, have similar experiences, attitudes, and traits that lead one to presume that they are partly autobiographical[citation needed]. There is precious little certifiable biography available about Wharton / Du Aime. He served in France and Germany in World War II in the 87th Infantry Division, was a painter, spent part of his adult life living on a houseboat as an artist in France, raised several children (not all of whom appreciated his philosophy of child-rearing), is a reasonably skilled carpenter and handyman, and has suffered from profound gastrointestinal problems.
In 1988, Wharton's daughter, Kate; his son-in-law, Bert; and their two children, two-year-old Dayiel and eight-month-old Mia, were killed in a horrific 23-car motor vehicle accident near Albany, Oregon, that was caused by the smoke generated by grass-burning on nearby farmland. In 1995, Wharton wrote a (mostly) non-fiction book, Ever After: A Father's True Story, in which he recounts the incidents leading up to the accident, his family's subsequent grief, and the three years he devoted to pursuing redress in the Oregon court system for the field-burning that caused the accident. Houseboat on Seine, a memoir, was published in 1996, about Wharton's purchase and renovation of a houseboat.
It is worth to be noted that he gained an enormous and very hard to be explained popularity in Poland, which was followed by many editions as well as meetings and, eventually, some works prepared and edited only in Polish.
Wharton died on October 29, 2008 of an infection he contracted while being hospitalized for blood-pressure problems.
Wharton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1943, and was inducted into the school's Wall of Fame in 1997. He volunteered to serve in the United States Army during World War II, and was assigned to serve in a unit to be trained as engineers. He ended up being assigned to serve in the infantry and was severely wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. After his discharge, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles and received a undergraduate degree in art and a doctorate in psychology, later teaching art in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
His first novel Birdy was published in 1978 when he was more than 50 years old. Birdy was a critical and popular success, and Alan Parker directed a film version starring Nicolas Cage and Matthew Modine. After the publication of Birdy and through the early 1990s, Du Aime published eight novels, including Dad and A Midnight Clear, both of which were also filmed, the former starring Jack Lemmon.
Many of the protagonists of Wharton's novels, despite having different names and backgrounds, have similar experiences, attitudes, and traits that lead one to presume that they are partly autobiographical[citation needed]. There is precious little certifiable biography available about Wharton / Du Aime. He served in France and Germany in World War II in the 87th Infantry Division, was a painter, spent part of his adult life living on a houseboat as an artist in France, raised several children (not all of whom appreciated his philosophy of child-rearing), is a reasonably skilled carpenter and handyman, and has suffered from profound gastrointestinal problems.
In 1988, Wharton's daughter, Kate; his son-in-law, Bert; and their two children, two-year-old Dayiel and eight-month-old Mia, were killed in a horrific 23-car motor vehicle accident near Albany, Oregon, that was caused by the smoke generated by grass-burning on nearby farmland. In 1995, Wharton wrote a (mostly) non-fiction book, Ever After: A Father's True Story, in which he recounts the incidents leading up to the accident, his family's subsequent grief, and the three years he devoted to pursuing redress in the Oregon court system for the field-burning that caused the accident. Houseboat on Seine, a memoir, was published in 1996, about Wharton's purchase and renovation of a houseboat.
It is worth to be noted that he gained an enormous and very hard to be explained popularity in Poland, which was followed by many editions as well as meetings and, eventually, some works prepared and edited only in Polish.
Wharton died on October 29, 2008 of an infection he contracted while being hospitalized for blood-pressure problems.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 2, 2023
za glupia na to jestem jeszcze chyba, ale sama ksiazka bardzo piekna i gleboko uderza, napewno za kilka lat wroce, dużo prostsza forma Whartona niż inne ksiazki ktore czytalam mimo wszystko
May 27, 2025
Wstrząsającą historia o tym, że pieniądze bywają dla wielu ważniejsze od ludzkiego życia
September 9, 2010
Sorry, in my humble opinion Wharton is NOT good writer.However I did read his books as a kid when I wasn't very ambitious reader.
September 20, 2023
2.5 rounded up. A little boring but still not bad. Rounded up because it actually happened.
January 15, 2024
Długo mi się czytało tą książkę, bo nie jest wcale taka interesująca. Proces jest strasznie długi a mógłby być zawarty w mniejszej ilości tresci. Nie podoba mi się cicha samogloryfikacja autora.
January 10, 2022
Very sad tale that you find out half way is true. I found it fascinating learning about how the American judicial system works and the complete ineptitude of the way this case is handled. It is another reminder about how evil capitalism can be and how nonsensical it seems.
September 7, 2024
Nie jest to historia śmierci, a walki o zmianę w prawie, próba uzyskania słowa "przepraszam" i pójścia dalej
November 15, 2024
Prawdę mówiąc książka bardziej potrzebna autorowi niż nam, czytelnikom
February 13, 2017
Very real and equally heartbreaking. In some strange way it was like catharsis. definitely not for the faint-hearted.
September 4, 2021
zrobiłam re-reading książki po ponad 18 latach od pierwszego przeczytania. Różnice jakie mi się nasuwają? Wtedy ja jako młoda studentka pierwszego roku studiów podczas pobytu w szpitalu, wrażenia- ciekawa książka chwytająca za serce, wciągająca czytelnika od pierwszych stron. Obecnie ja jako matka córki u progu nastoletności już zupełnie inaczej patrzyłam na treść powieści i ból autora, gdyż odczuwałam reakcje rodzicielskie, uroniłam kilka łez współczując W.Whartonowi. Co ja bym czuła w takiej sytuacji? Czy dałabym radę znieść podobny ból po stracie córki i jej rodziny? Tego nie wiem i mam nadzieję się nigdy nie dowiedzieć. Książka ta to najbardziej wstrząsająca powieść Whartona, powieść opowiadająca o tragicznej śmierci pierworodnej córki i jej rodziny, którzy mieli przed sobą całe życie, szczęśliwe życie u boku ukochanej osoby i malutkich dzieci. Niestety wszystko to przekreślił wypadek na autostradzie stanowej I-5 w USA. Walka o sprawiedliwość, o zaprzestanie procederu wypalania pól w stanie Oregonu, które przyczyniają się do licznych wypadków samochodowych na autostradzie, czy też powodują choroby układu oddechowego mieszkańców. W książce autor przyznaje, że nie udało mu się osiągnąć zamierzonego celu.
January 23, 2016
Very autobiographical book by William Wharton. About his daughter, her life partners, kids and her death in car accident caused by the smoke from burning fields. In this accident died she, her second husband and their two daughters. Despite the fact it's about death of very close relatives it's about life. William Wharton after this tragedy was fighting for banning the burning fields.
September 21, 2012
I did cry reading this book .as a parent the worst thing is to bury your child before you...
November 14, 2013
Very sad and touching. One of my favourite books by Wharton.
March 29, 2015
Maybe that's true that Whorton's literature isn't very ambitious but one thing you must to admit - he can really touch readers hearts.
December 11, 2022
Niesamowita książka, ukazująca ból po stracie bliskiej osoby. Polecam (mocny wyciskacz łez)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews