Robert Stone (1937-2015), author of “Dog Soldiers,” “A Flag for Sunrise” and “Damascus Gate,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios on January 25, 2007 during the book tour for his memoir, “Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties.”
Robert Stone, who died on January 10th, 2015 at the age of 77, won the National Book Award in 1975 for his novel Dog Soldiers and was a finalist four other times, and twice was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Among his other books were the critically acclaimed A Flag for Sunrise, set in war-torn Central America, and Damascus Gate, set in the conflicted city of Jerusalem. His memoir, Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties, is one of the best books written about the counterculture.
Robert Stone’s books tend to have complicated characters existing during complex political and social turmoil. Two of his books became films, Hall of Mirrors became WUSA, and Dog Soldiers became Who’ll Stop the Rain, an excellent film that was dumped by the studio.
Following the interview, only three books were published. In 2010 it was a collection of short stories referred to in the interview, Fun with Problems. The novel Death of the Black Haired Girl, was published in 2013, and a collection of non-fiction The Eye You See With, was published posthumously in 2020.