James Alexander

James Alexander Thom was an American author renowned for his historically accurate novels on the Western genre and colonial American history, including his bestseller Follow the River about Mary Ingles' escape from Shawnee captors in 1755. A Korean War veteran, he graduated from Butler University with a BA in Journalism in 1960 and worked as a reporter and columnist for The Indianapolis Star. His meticulously researched books sold over 2 million copies, earning him awards like the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation.