Most Popular Books by Rinker Buck

A memoir of two teenage brothers'' cross-country flight in a Piper Cub in 1966: "A terrific book . . . Huckleberry Finn meets The Spirit of St. Louis." — Chicago Sun-Times In the summer of 1966, Rinker and Kern Buck, two teenagers 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 radio, because they couldn''t afford one. Their trip retraced a mythical route flown by their father, Tom Buck, a brash, colorful ex-barnstormer who had lost a leg in a tragic air crash before his sons were born, but who so loved the adventure of flight that he taught his boys to fly before they could drive. Along the way, the brothers would battle thunderstorms and wracking turbulence and encounter cowboys and crop dusters and the smalltown cafes, cheap motels, and dusty landing strips of pre-Vietnam America. These two young men must separate from their difficult, quirky father—literally by putting a country''s distance between them—but they do it on their father''s terms: in an airplane. "This is more than a flying adventure—it is also a warm, affectionate account of an unusual family." — The Newark Star-Ledger "Colorful, exhilarating, heart-stirring." — Booklist "[An] enchanting story [with] masterly insider descriptions of flight." — Kirkus Reviews "An adventure full of fraternal jealousy . . . boneheaded hubris, and unbridled fun and freedom." — The Boston Globe "A funny, cocky gem of a book." — The New Yorker Includes photographs

A new American journey.

In this epic, enchanting blend of history adventure, master American storyteller Rinker Buck builds a wooden flatboat from the grand "flatboat era" of the 1800s and sails it down the Mississippi River, illuminating the forgotten past of America''s first western frontier.

From the author of the acclaimed coming-of-age story "Flight of Passage" comes a rollicking memoir of a special time of his--and everyone else''s--life. Photos.

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, Wyoming, which had taken Shane into its heart; and of the Marine detail sent to deliver the news to the Childers family and the extraordinary connection that formed between them. At once an inspiring account of commitment to the military and a moving story of family and devotion, Shane Comes Home rises above politics to capture the life of a remarkable young man who came to symbolize the heart of America during a difficult time.

Throughout history, aviation has been a field filled with adventure and romance, daredevils and heroes, great challenges and big dreams. "If We Had Wings" captures the essence of man''s ongoing fascination with flight, from early Renaissance scientists who imagined fanciful flying machines through the technological breakthroughs that launched humans into space. The passion to fly and the corresponding advances in aviation have always changed our world irrevocably, and "If We Had Wings" offers both the tragedies and the triumphs of the continued attempts to reach even higher. These compelling stories are enhanced by removable documents -- ranging from diary pages of a World War I airman to letters that Amelia Earhart wrote to her parents in the event of her death. These will all make the material come to life like never before.

Spanning 2,000 miles and traversing six states from Missouri to the Pacific Ocean, the Oregon Trail is the route that made America. In the fifteen years before the Civil War, when 400,000 pioneers used it to emigrate West, the trail united the coasts, doubled the size of the country, and laid the groundwork for the railroads. The trail years also solidified the American character: our plucky determination in the face of adversity, our impetuous cycle of financial bubbles and busts, the fractious clash of ethnic populations competing for the same jobs and space. At once an American journey, a work of history, and a personal saga, this book tells the story of Buck''s 2,000-mile expedition across the plains. He was accompanied by three cantankerous mules, his boisterous brother, Nick, and an "incurably filthy" Jack Russell terrier named Olive Oyl. Along the way, Buck dodges thunderstorms in Nebraska, chases his runaway mules across miles of Wyoming plains, scouts more than five hundred miles of nearly vanished trail on foot, crosses the Rockies, makes desperate fifty-mile forced marches for water, and repairs so many broken wheels and axels that he nearly reinvents the art of wagon travel itself. Apart from charting his own geographical and emotional adventure, Buck introduces readers to the evangelists, shysters, natives, trailblazers, and everyday dreamers who were among the first of the pioneers to make the journey west. -- Publisher description.