Mario Rigoni Stern was an Italian author and World War II veteran. His first novel Il sergente nella neve, published in 1953, draws on his own experience as a Sergeant Major in the Alpini corps during the disastrous retreat from Russia in World War II. It is his only work to be translated into English and Spanish. Other well-known works also include Le stagioni di Giacomo, Storia di T�nle, and the collection of short stories Sentieri sotto la neve. He was awarded the Premio Campiello and the Premio Bagutta for Storia di T�nle, and the Italian PEN prize for Sentieri sotto la neve. 

November 1st, 1921 in Asiago  /  Died:   Jun 16th, 2008