Crossing to Safety, Wallace Stegner (Random House, 1987) *****

This is one of my favorite modern novels by one of my favorite authors. Wallace Stegner died, following an auto accident in Santa Fe in 1993. Most of his books are still in print, but many readers are unfamiliar with his work. Their loss... don't let it be yours. Read any of his books. Angle of Repose won a Pulitzer, and Spectator Bird won the National Book Award, but I think his best is Crossing to Safely, his last novel. It should especially appeal to those who teach because it's the story of a lifelong friendship between two professors and their families, beginning with their first teaching job and then following them through all the twists and turns that their lives take after that it has everything from humor to tragedy, but mostly it's a powerful story of people and how they deal with their lives, families and friends.  Most of all, it is the story of friendships.