(I'm a big fan of The Lords of Discipline, Conroy's great novel about a prestigious military academy and the sinister hazing of its first black cadet. The movie version was pretty decent too, though nowhere near as powerful as the book.)




Pat Conroy, author of 'Prince of Tides' and 'Great Santini,' dies at 70

Pat Conroy, whose novels of family dysfunction were turned into the Oscar-nominated films Conrack, The Great Santini and Prince of Tides, has died of pancreatic cancer. He was 70. According to his publisher, Conroy died today at home in Beaufort, South Carolina with his family present.