Novak, Michael (John) (1933– )

US Catholic educator and author. He wrote numerous books on Catholicism, identity, and spiritual growth, and became an increasingly more prominent, and outspoken, conservative critic of contemporary trends in US society. His best-known works are The Experience of Nothingness (1970) and The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics (1972). In Choosing Our King (1974) he proposed that there should be two presidents of the USA – one with the power, another with the ceremonial role.

Novak was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Georgian University in Rome (1958) and later taught at Stanford University (1965–68), the State University of New York (1968–73), and other schools.