William Timothy O'Brien (born October 1, 1946) is an American novelist. He is best known for his book *The Things They Carried* (1990), a collection of linked semi-autobiographical stories inspired by O'Brien's experiences in the Vietnam War. In 2010, the New York Times described O'Brien's book as a Vietnam classic. In addition, he is known for his war novel, *Going After Cacciato* (1978), also about wartime Vietnam, and later novels about postwar lives of veterans. O'Brien has held the endowed chair at the MFA program of Texas State University–San Marcos every other academic year since 2003–2004 (2003–2004, 2005–2006, 2007–2008, 2009–2010, and 2011–2012). **Source**: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_O%27Brien_(author)" target="blanck">Tim O'Brien</a> on Wikipedia