John Grisham

John Ray Grisham (born February 8, 1955) is an American former politician, retired attorney and novelist who is best known for his works of modern legal drama. As of 2008, his books have sold over 250 million copies worldwide. John Grisham, the second oldest of five siblings, was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Southern Baptist parents of modest means. His father worked as a construction worker and a cotton farmer; his mother was a homemaker. After moving frequently, the family settled in 1967 in the town of Southaven in DeSoto County, Mississippi, where Grisham graduated from Southaven High School. He played as a quarterback for the school football team. Encouraged by his mother, the young Grisham was an avid reader, and was especially influenced by the work of John Steinbeck whose clarity he admired. In 1977, Grisham received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Mississippi State University. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. Upon graduation he entered a small-town general law practice for nearly a decade in Southaven, where he focused on criminal law and civil law representing a broad spectrum of clients. In 1983 he was elected as a Democrat to the Mississippi House of Representatives, where he served until 1990. Grisham describes himself as a "moderate Baptist," and has performed mission service for his church in Brazil. He lives with his wife Renée Jones and their two children, Ty and Shea in a Victorian home on a farm" outside Oxford, Mississippi, "and a home near Charlottesville, Virginia.