Peter George (author)

For the Canadian university administrator, see Peter George (professor).

Peter Bryan George (March 24 1924 - June 11 1966) was a British author, most famous for the Cold War thriller novel Red Alert. He was born in Treorchy, Wales, and died in Hastings, East Sussex by his own hand.

George was deeply committed to nuclear disarmament and had been a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Written while a serving RAF officer, (hence the original use of a pseudonym: Peter Bryant - the Bryan being taken from his middle name) Red Alert, his best-known novel, was the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's classic film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Peter George in fact wrote the screenplay for the film (in collaboration with Kubrick and Terry Southern), and was displeased with the overall satirical feel of the movie. He wrote a novelization of the screenplay after the film was released and dedicated it to the director.

George later wrote another novel to denounce the use of nuclear weapons, entitled Commander-I.