Nadler, John 1961-

PERSONAL:

Born August 10, 1961, in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada; son of John G. (a farmer and construction worker) and Norma (a secretary; maiden name, Helin) Nadler; married Erika Papp (a lawyer); children: John Gusztav. Ethnicity: "Hungarian/Finn."Education: University of Victoria, B.A., 1984; Carleton University, B.J. (with honors), 1985, M.J., 1990.Politics: Canadian Liberal Party. Religion: "Baptized Catholic, confirmed Lutheran." Hobbies and other interests: Biking, skiing.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—Albert Zuckerman, Writers House, 21 W. 26th St., New York, NY 10010.E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer and journalist. Creston Fire Department, firefighter, 1979-84; British Columbia Ministry of Education, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, editorial consultant, 1986-90; Budapest Week, Budapest, Hungary, writer, 1992-96; CanWest Newspapers, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Balkan correspondent, 1997—. Also Budapest correspondent for Varietymagazine, 1994—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

British Columbia Newspapers Award, best historical writing, British Columbia Newspaper Association, 1981, for an article titled "The Great Creston Bank Robbery."

WRITINGS:

Searching for Sofia: A Tale of Obsession, Murder, and War (literary nonfiction), Doubleday Canada (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2003.

A Perfect Hell (literary nonfiction), Presidio Press (Novato, CA), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including Maclean's, Canadian Business, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Vancouver Sun, Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Time Europe, Sunday Times, and European.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Prodigal Sons, the story of a raid on Hammelburg, Germany, in March, 1945; research on international terrorism.

SIDELIGHTS:

John Nadler told CA: "From an early age I was interested in presenting nonfiction in a compelling literary style. My early influences were journalists who pioneered this genre: Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, Peter Maas; also Pierre Berton and Farley Mowat. Literary influences include Somerset Maugham, Vladimir Nabokov, I.B. Singer, Arthur Koestler, Henry Miller, Martin Amis. In my nonfiction writing such as Searching for Sofia: A Tale of Obsession, Murder, and War I've attempted to tell the story of large events (in this case, the Kosovo conflict) through the eyes of ordinary characters (the Serb army medic Boris Postovnik, the Albanian refugee Gjorgj Isufi). In A Perfect Hell the Italian campaign in World War II is experienced through the eyes of best friends Joe Glass and Lorin Waling.

"In my war reporting I was fascinated by the unusual relationships that underscore the thesis that nothing on a battlefield happens in isolation. Searching for Sofiahighlights the personal connection between a Serb army medic and an Albanian refugee who had never met; A Perfect Hell explores the relationships and symbiosis between soldiers in combat and the families they left behind at home."