Norman Mailer is one of America’s most brilliant and controversial writers. Propelled to early success by his first novel, The Naked  and the Dead  (1948), Mailer has built a reputation as a skilled journalist and essayist. Among his books are: Armies of the Night  (1968) for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, An  American Dream  (1965), and The Executioner’s Song . He is the author of Tough Guys Don’t Dance  (1984), Harlot’s Ghost  (1991) and most recently, Oswald’s Tale  (1995).