This image is the cover for the book Pursuit of Happiness

Pursuit of Happiness

Finalist for the National Book Award: A deftly comic novel of family and society set in 1960s Chicago
“Being free with the permission of society is not being free at all,” says William Popper, the central character in this quietly ironic first novel. William and his girlfriend, Jane, are sensible University of Chicago graduates, happy lovers, children of good families—and self-described anarchists. When William accidentally runs over an elderly woman and is charged with manslaughter, their lives veer unexpectedly off path. As the consequences of William’s accident compound, the two find themselves butting up against the society they seek to drop out of. This National Book Award–nominated debut still speaks to those who remain idealistic in a cynical world.

Thomas Rogers

Thomas Rogers (1927–2007) was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was the author of four novels, including the National Book Award finalists The Pursuit of Happiness and The Confession of a Child of the Century by Samuel Heather. His third novel is At the Shores, and his final work, Jerry Engels, is its sequel. David Susskind produced a film based on The Pursuit of Happiness starring Barbara Hershey and Michael Sarrazin.

Open Road Integrated Media