Dec 27, 2009

Empire Falls | Biography

Richard Russo was born James Richard Russo on July 15, 1949, in Johnstown, New York, but he grew up in Gloversville, an upstate New York town with many of the same difficulties as the fictional Empire Falls, Maine. The town’s major industry—the making of gloves—began to decline after World War II, when women ceased wearing gloves on an everyday basis. The author’s father, James Russo, worked at a wide array of jobs, including glove cutting and construction work. After leaving Gloversville to attend college at the University of Arizona, Russo worked in construction with his father...