On March 21, 2003, while leading a rifle platoon into combat, Marine Lieutenant Shane Childers became the first combat fatality of the Iraq War. In this gripping, beautifully written personal history, award-winning writer Rinker Buck chronicles Shane's death and his life, exploring its meaning for his family, his fellow soldiers, and the country itself. It is the story of an intelligent, gifted soldier who embodied the soul of today's all-volunteer warrior class; of the town of Powell, Wyo...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Winner of the PEN New England Award“Enchanting…A book filled with so much love…Long before Oregon, Rinker Buck has convinced us that the best way to see America is from the seat of a covered wagon.” —The Wall Street Journal“Amazing…A real nonfiction thriller.” —The New York Review of Books“Absorbing…Winning…The many layers in The Oregon Trail...

**Writer Rinker Buck looks back to a summer when he and his brother, at ages fifteen and seventeen, respectively, became the youngest duo to fly across America, from New Jersey to California."Terrific." —The Chicago Sun-Times**In the summer of 1966, Rinker and Kernahan Buck, two teenaged boys from New Jersey, bought a dilapidated Piper Cub for $300, rebuilt it, and piloted it on a record-breaking flight across America, navigating all the way to California without a...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “Audacious…Life on the Mississippi sparkles.” —The Wall Street Journal * “A rich mix of history, reporting, and personal introspection.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch * “Both a travelogue and an engaging history lesson about America’s westward expansion.” —The Christian Science MonitorThe eagerly awaited return of master American storyteller Rinker Buck, Life on the Mississippi...

**Writer Rinker Buck looks back to a summer when he and his brother, at ages fifteen and seventeen, respectively, became the youngest duo to fly across America, from New Jersey to California."Terrific." —The Chicago Sun-Times**In the summer of 1966, Rinker and Kernahan Buck, two teenaged boys from New Jersey, bought a dilapidated Piper Cub for $300, rebuilt it, and piloted it on a record-breaking flight across America, navigating all the way to California without a...