Background
Hyman was born in Cordele, Georgia, where he discovered his passion for writing as a student in high school, and first displayed his skill in a humorous article published in the school newspaper.
Hyman was born in Cordele, Georgia, where he discovered his passion for writing as a student in high school, and first displayed his skill in a humorous article published in the school newspaper.
Following a year at North Georgia College and State University, he attended Duke University starting in 1941.
He interrupted his studies to serve in the United States Army Air Forces during World World War II as a photo navigator. Just before graduating from Duke in February 1947, Hyman married his high school sweetheart, Gwendolyn Holt. Between 1947 to 1954, drawing heavily on his personal experiences from the army, Hyman worked on Number Time for Sergeants, the misadventures of a country bumpkin draftee named Will Stockdale, whose hometown of Callville closely resembles Cordele, and who narrates his own story in an uneducated southern dialect.
Several publishers rejected the manuscript before it was finally accepted by Random House and published in 1954.
The popularity of the book resulted in a Broadway show and a film, which launched the career of Andy Griffith. That second novel, Take Now Thy Son, and a collection of Hyman"s letters entitled Love, Boy: The Letters of Mac Hyman were both published posthumously.