Rinker Buck began his career in journalism at the Berkshire Eagle and was a longtime staff writer for the Hartford Courant. He has written for Vanity Fair, New York, Life, and many other publications, and his work has won PEN New England Award, the Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Writing Award, and the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award. He is the author of The Oregon Trail as well as the acclaimed memoirs Flight of Passage and First Job. He lives in northwest Connecticut.
"A laugh-out-loud masterpiece . . . Alternately harrowing and
exhilarating . . . The book is an unremitting delight."
--Willamette Week
"A quintessential American story . . . The Oregon Trail attains its
considerable narrative power by interweaving pioneer history with
Rinker-and-Nick-and-mules interpersonal strife with poignant
memories of the author's father, who took his own family on a
covered wagon journey through New Jersey and Pennsylvania in 1958.
. . . This makes The Oregon Trail a rare and effective work of
history--the trail stories of the Buck brothers bring humor and
drama, and the pioneer biographies supply a context that makes
every other aspect of the book snap into sharp relief. . . . The
experience of The Oregon Trail stands squarely opposite much of
what is modern--it's slow travel with poor communication, it places
struggle before comfort, and it represents a connection with
history rather than a search for the newest of the new. In that
sense, you'd think the book would be slow-paced and fusty, but it's
really something else: raw, visceral, and often laugh-out-loud
funny. For anyone who has ever dreamed of seeing America slowly
from the back of a wagon, The Oregon Trail is a vicarious
thrill."
--James Norton, Christian Science Monitor
"A remarkable saga . . . Thanks to Buck's utterly engaging voice,
infectious enthusiasm, unquenchable curiosity, dogged determination
and especially his ability to convey the interaction of two
brothers (and three mules), all of whom pull together despite their
strong but profoundly different personalities, the saga becomes
nothing short of irresistible. . . . This tale of brotherhood,
persistence and daring so snares the emotions that it becomes a
tear-jerker at its close."
--Rosemary Herbert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"A trip back in time . . . Buck brings the land to life in a richly
researched book that draws heavily from journals kept by the
pioneers and their memoirs. . . . His exploration of America and
himself is a joy to read."
--USA Today (4 out of 4 stars)
"Absorbing . . . The many layers in The Oregon Trail are linked by
Mr. Buck's voice, which is alert and unpretentious in a manner that
put me in mind of Bill Bryson's comic tone in A Walk in the Woods.
. . . He's good company on the page, and you root for him. . . .
He's particularly winning on how, as he puts it, 'the vaudeville of
American life was acted out on the trail.' . . . This shaggy
pilgrimage describes a form of happiness sought, and happiness
found."
--Dwight Garner, The New York Times
"An entertaining and enlightening account of one of America's most
legendary migrations. Even readers who don't know a horse from a
mule will find themselves swept up in this inspiring and masterful
tale of perseverance and the pioneer spirit."
--Publishers Weekly
"An incredible true story . . . Weaving a tale somewhere between a
travelogue and a history lesson, Buck traces the iconic path
literally and figuratively as he re-creates the great migration
with his brother and a Jack Russell terrier."
--Entertainment Weekly
"Astonishing . . . By turns frankly hilarious, historically
elucidating, emotionally touching, and deeply informative . . . A
crazy whim of a trip on a covered wagon turns into an inspired
exploration of American identity."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Awe-inspiring . . . Charming, big-hearted, impassioned, and a lot
of fun to read . . . If Buck doesn't quite make you want to hitch
up your own wagon, his rapturous account will still leave you
daydreaming and hungry to see this land."
--The Boston Globe
"Buck's lean prose, historical insight, and penetrating curiosity
elevate The Oregon Trail into an instant classic that deserves a
place on your bookshelf between Bryson and Horwitz. A master
storyteller and dogged reporter, Buck gives substance to an
unrelenting wanderlust that is the envy of anyone who has ever
dreamed of lighting out for the territories."
--Bob Drury, coauthor of The Heart of Everything That Is
"Enchanting . . . Interspersed with the story of his westward
journey, Mr. Buck entertains and enlightens with discourses on
American history and culture. . . . He has delivered us a book
filled with so much love--for mules, for his brother, for America
itself. . . . Long before Oregon, Rinker Buck has convinced us that
the best way to see America is from the seat of a covered
wagon."
--Gregory Crouch, The Wall Street Journal
"Excellent . . . An amazing cross-country journey . . . Rinker and
Nick Buck's conquest of the trail, the achievement of a lifetime,
makes for a real nonfiction thriller, an account that keeps you
turning the pages because you can't conceive how the protagonists
will make it through the enormous real-life obstacles confronting
them."
--Ian Frazier, The New York Review of Books
"Exhilarating . . . Bristles with new information . . . Although
the subject of the Oregon Trail has been raked over by some of
America's finest historians, Rinker manages to relate stories about
pioneer life, disease, grave location, and trail development and
history that add to our collective knowledge. . . . The book
sparkles."
--The Wichita Eagle
"How lucky we are that Rinker Buck and his brother, as stubborn and
endearing as the mules they drove, undertook this patently
imprudent journey--so the rest of us could sit in our easy chairs
and tag along for the wild and woolly ride. Along the way we learn
a little about mule breeders, tongue relievers, cholera, cattle
guards, and littering, 1850s style--and a lot about the enduring
essence of the pioneer spirit. Part Laura Ingalls Wilder, part Jack
Kerouac, The Oregon Trail is an idiosyncratic and irresistible
addition to the canon of American road-trip literature."
--George Howe Colt, National Book Award finalist for The Big
House
"Interwoven in Buck's adventure tale is a fascinating history of
the development of the trail, its heyday, and the colorful
characters that made the journey. . . . Whether their primary
interest is American history, adventure travel or a captivating
memoir, readers are sure to be delighted by this humorous and
entertaining story that allows us to believe that Walter Mitty-like
fantasies can indeed come true."
--Associated Press
"Once you start reading this book, you will not want to stop. With
wonderful writing, colorful characters, and a deep understanding of
history and the human condition, Rinker Buck delivers a richly
rewarding portrait of the Oregon Trail, past and present. Using
humor and compassion, he creates a compelling, page-turning saga of
the American experience."
--Eric Jay Dolin, author of Fur, Fortune, and Empire and
Leviathan
"Romantic . . . Compelling . . . The Oregon trip is fraught with
mishaps, near-death experiences, and plain bad luck. But there were
also angels along the way helping them get through."
--Library Journal
"This book is a keeper. . . . The straight-ahead title scarcely
does justice to this rollicking good read, a book that's as much
fun as the Brothers Buck seem to be as they travel from Missouri to
Oregon by covered wagon. . . . Observant, conversational, and often
funny, The Oregon Trail makes for a satisfying trip."
--Seattle Times
"This smart, endearing book is not just about a picaresque and
probably ill-advised adventure; it's a story about us--who we are
and how we came to be that way. As he makes his two thousand-mile
pilgrimage by cussed mule across the dusty continent, Rinker Buck
finds his way deep into our nation's DNA."
--Hampton Sides, author of Blood and Thunder and Americana
"What a way to spend a summer! Rinker Buck lived the dream of
countless red-blooded Americans. . . . The Oregon Trail is must
reading for anyone in love with the West."
--Jules Wagman, Cleveland Plain Dealer
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