Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - List of Books by Herman Raucher

Herman Raucher (born April 13, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American author who has written several screenplays, among them the popular Summer of '42 and The Great Santini and several novels and plays. He was married to Broadway dancer Mary Kathryn Raucher from 1960 until her death in 2002; they had two daughters.

Many of his works have autobiographical undertones or are straightforward memoirs. His 1980 book, There Should Have Been Castles, was a re-telling of the early years of his relationship with his wife. The book also chronicles his early years in the film industry and his wife's time on Broadway. Though he took certain dramatic license for the sake of the story (for example, minor elements relating to his wife were actually taken from a girl he dated in college; the names of certain real-life people were changed for their protection and Raucher's; Raucher changed his and his wife's names to Ben and Ginny in the final draft of the book), he maintains that the book is still over ninety percent accurate. Despite being a bestseller, the book went out of print in the mid-1980s along with all of Raucher's other works, following an unexplained falling out between Raucher and his publishers. The book fared much better in Poland where it has come to be considered a classic of contemporary literature and remains in print under the title Prawie Jak w Bajce. In the 1980s, Raucher sold the film rights to the book for $250,000. The movie was never made, but because the studio retained the rights Raucher was allowed to keep the money.

He was commissioned to write the novelization and screenplay for Ode to Billie Joe based on the song by Bobbie Gentry. He met with Gentry to learn the reason for the protagonist's suicide, which is not revealed in the song. Gentry replied that she had never come up with a reason.

Bibliography/Filmography   more

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Herman Raucher", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Total Books: 27
Maynard's House
2015 - Maynard's House (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781626818903
ISBN-10: 1626818908
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
  ?

Frhling einen Sommer lang
2003 - Frhling Einen Sommer Lang (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9783502519058
ISBN-10: 3502519056
  ?

Summer of '42
1994 - Summer of '42 (Hardcover)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780848803100
ISBN-10: 0848803108
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Substores
  • Currently 0.5/5 Stars.
 1

There Should Have Been Castles
1979 - There Should Have Been Castles (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780440185000
ISBN-10: 0440185009
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Romance
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 4

Summer Of'42
1978 - Summer of'42 (Paperback)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780440183488
ISBN-10: 0440183480
Genre: Literature & Fiction
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 2

Ode to Billy Joe
1976 - Ode to Billy Joe (Hardcover)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780491018678
ISBN-10: 0491018673
Genre: Literature & Fiction
  ?

Glimpse of Tiger
1973 - Glimpse of Tiger (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780722172247
ISBN-10: 0722172249
Genre: Literature & Fiction
  ?

A Glimpse of Tiger A Novel
1971 - A Glimpse of Tiger a Novel (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780399103407
ISBN-10: 0399103406
  ?

The Summer of '42
1971 - The Summer of '42 (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780440083481
ISBN-10: 0440083486
Genre: Romance
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 2

Watermelon Man
Watermelon Man (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780441873708
ISBN-10: 0441873707
  ?

A Glimpse Of Tiger
A Glimpse of Tiger (Hardcover)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780491009317
ISBN-10: 0491009313
  ?

The Summer Of 42
The Summer of 42 (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780722172254
ISBN-10: 0722172257
Genre: Literature & Fiction
  ?

Summer of FortyTwo
Summer of Fortytwo (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9781568490793
ISBN-10: 1568490798
  ?

Verano del 42
Verano Del 42 [Biblioteca Contemporánea, 44] (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9788421741184
ISBN-10: 8421741187
  ?

Sublime Amor Juvenil
Sublime Amor Juvenil (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9788427004207
ISBN-10: 8427004206
Genre: Nonfiction
  ?