Biography

Todd Strasser (born May 5, 1950) is an American writer of more than 140 young-adult and middle grade novels and many short stories and works of non-fiction, some written under the pen names Morton Rhue and T.S. Rue. Strasser was born in New York City. He studied literature and creative writing at New York University and Beloit College, then worked as a reporter for the Middletown Times Herald-Record newspaper, and as a copywriter for Compton Advertising in New York City.

His first novel was Angel Dust Blues (1978). He is the father of two children, and an avid tennis player and surfer. In Germany, under the pen name Morton Rhue, he is the best-selling author of such novels as Die Welle, Dschihad Online, Ich knall euch ab!, Boot Camp, No Place, No Home, Ghetto Kidz, Asphalt Tribe, and a number of other titles. In 2008, The Wave (the movie version of Die Welle) starring Jürgen Vogel, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to become a box office success in many European countries. In November 2019 Netflix released a world-wide series, We Are The Wave, inspired by Strasser's novel.Strasser's newest novels are Price of Duty (In Germany, American Hero) and Summer of '69. Price of Duty shows how the military uses promises of heroics, teamwork, and excitement to entice young people to enlist despite the life and death risks. The book has received uniformly outstanding reviews and was named an Amazon Young Adult Book of the Month for July, 2018, as well as a 2018 New York Public Library Best Book for Teens.Summer of '69 is Strasser's autobiographical novel/memoir about his life during the summer of Woodstock, the war in Vietnam, and the first man to set foot on the moon. It was written for adults and mature teens and explores the culture, drug use, sexual mores, and music of the 1960s, as well as his own problems with the military draft and the rupture to his family caused by a nearly forgotten tragedy many years before. Reviewing for Booklist, Ilene Cooper wrote:"Drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll, those hallmarks of the summer of 1969, are all here, but there's so much more... The story captures the mood and spirit of the times …The best part transcends eras: Lucas' introspection as he contemplates his place in the world.”