Robert Leckie was born in Pike County, Texas and raised in Oklahoma and Colorado. He graduated from the US Naval Academy, Class of 1956, and served as a naval aviator and flight instructor during the Korean War. He left the Navy in 1964 to go to law school, but was called up for the Vietnam War. During his tour he flew as a forward air controller for the Army
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In 1970, Leckie finished his first book, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire. It has been translated into seventeen languages. In 1976, Leckie published his second book, The Story of World War II.
The book became an international bestseller and a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice. In 1979 he published his first novel, Inside the Fire: An American Fighter Pilot's Mission Behind Enemy Lines in North Vietnam. It became a #1 bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic and was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Novel by the Mystery Writers of America.
In 1984 Leckie followed with The Outpost: A Novel about Vietnam Combat Tactics and SERE School, which was also a #1 bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1986 Leckie published his first non-fiction work, Suicide Missions: Rescues of World War II aces and pilots who saved their own lives by deciding to sacrifice theirs instead. This book won the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière from France's prestigious Académie Française and was a #1 bestseller worldwide.
Since 1986 Leckie has published over twenty books including five collections of short fiction; two novels; two collections of short stories; three books on writing; four books on aviation; two books about men's issues; two biographies; one history book; one memoir; one book on motorcycles (one million copies sold); one biography (for which he won several awards); four young adult fiction novels; two children's fiction novels; two non-fiction books (one about men's issues); one biography (for which he won another award); two biographies (for which he won yet another award); one textbook (which he wrote with his daughter), various articles on writing and aviation; ten audio books (including three acclaimed audio versions of The Rising Sun); two anthologies (of short stories) through major publishers; eight video courses through major interactive media companies; interactive e-books at major online retailers such as Amazon Kindle Store, Barnes