Appointment in Samarra

Mr O'Hara's eyes and ears have been spared nothing, but he has kept in his heart a curious and bitter mercy

Dorothy Parker

O'Hara writes with swift realism, wisely avoids sentimentality

Time Magazine

Dramatic...exciting...vivid and written at high speed...accurate and often penetrating

The Nation

Better than anyone else, he told the truth about his time, the first half of the twentieth century. He was a professional. He wrote honestly and well

John O’Hara on John O’Hara. He had this inscribed on his gravestone.