J.D. Salinger published The Catcher in the Rye in 1951 and captured the voice of adolescent alienation so precisely that the novel has never gone out of print. Then he did something no famous writer is supposed to do — he disappeared. He stopped publishing, retreated to a compound in rural New Hampshire, and spent the last fifty-five years of his life as one of the most famous recluses in American history.

This episode traces Salinger from his World War II combat experience through the creation of Holden Caulfield, the fame he never wanted, and the decades of silence that made his absence louder than most writers' entire careers.

• Salinger's traumatic World War II service and the combat experience that shaped his writing
• The creation of Holden Caulfield and the novel that defined teenage rebellion for generations
• T ...