My theory about why Hemingway killed himself is that he heard his own voice; that he reached the point where he couldn't write without feeling he was repeating himself. That's the worst thing that can happen to a writer.

In 1969 Doctorow left publishing in order to write accepting a position as Visiting Writer at the University of California Irvine where he completed The Book of Daniel (1971) a freely fictionalized consideration of the trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for allegedly giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He has donated his papers to the Fales Library of New York University. 31 no.

He is known internationally for his unique works of historical fiction.