One of the world’s bestselling authors has created scores of memorable heroes and unforgettable experiences in 147 novels, which hold the record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers by a single author. 

But the protagonists of his latest book, Walk in My Combat Boots, are not products of his imagination — and the dangers, dilemmas and darkness they confront are not fictional. After conducting hundreds of interviews with veterans who fought in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, James Patterson crafted their brutally honest tales about donning uniforms, facing enemies, losing friends and navigating their way back home into an eye-opening volume told with the aplomb of a veteran storyteller.

Patterson’s novels account for six percent of all those sold in the US. Winner of an Edgar and six Emmy Awards, he was also presented with the National Book Foundation’s Literarian Award for Outstanding Service, which includes his donation of more than $70 million to support education and endow college scholarships for teachers.

In conversation with Lea Carpenter.