by Mari Sandoz
First published 1984
Milt Stone returns from the Civil War missing a leg, earning him the nickname Tom-Walker from circus performers who recognize a kindred spirit walking on stilts. He brings his family to Missouri country, where he becomes known for his stories and his fierce loyalty to working people who bear the costs of war and progress. Milt watches powerful men grab easy wealth while ordinary families struggle to survive. His son goes off to fight in the Great War and comes back broken like his father. A generation later, his grandson marches to World War II and returns equally damaged. Each man must battle not just foreign enemies but the forces at home that crush people like the Stones. The family endures through decades when everyone wants to become either a railroad baron or an outlaw, when men chase riches in mines and cattle while others pay the price. Three generations of Stone men carry their wounds and keep fighting for their place in an America that promises much but delivers hardship to those who serve it most faithfully.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-saga, generational-trauma, resilience
Setting: Missouri
Period: Civil War, Great War, World War I, World War II
372 pages · Hardcover · University of Nebraska Press
Content warnings: war