Rinker Buck (December 29, 1950) is an American author who is best known for his 1997 memoir Flight of Passage.
Rinker Buck | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charles Rinker Buck December 29, 1950 Morristown, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author, journalist |
| Period | 1997–2022 |
| Genre | Memoir, non-fiction |
| Notable works |
|
| Notable awards | Eugene S. Pulliam Journalism Writing Award[1] |
Early life
editRinker Buck was born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey, the fourth child of Mary Patricia Buck (née Kernahan) and political activist and Look Magazine publisher Thomas Francis Buck. He has five brothers and five sisters.[2]
1966 flight
editIn the winter of 1965–1966, Rinker (15) and his older brother Kernahan (17), a licensed pilot, devised a plan to rebuild their father's 1948 Piper PA-11 and fly it from Somerset Hills Airport (N64)[3] in Basking Ridge, New Jersey to Capistrano Airport (L38)[4] in San Juan Capistrano, California. Their journey took six days and was completed in July 1966.[5] The flight is the subject of Buck's 1997 memoir Flight of Passage.[6]
Journalism career
editBuck began his career in journalism shortly after graduating from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. His first job was writing for the Berkshire Eagle in 1973. He then served as reporter for New York, Life, Hartford Courant, Adweek and several other national publications.[1]
Awards
edit- 2016 PEN New England Award
- 2004 Eugene S. Pulliam Journalism Writing Award
- 2003 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award[7]
- Max Kurant Award for Excellence in Aviation Coverage (AOPA)
Bibliography
edit- Flight of Passage (1997) – Hyperion Books
- If We Had Wings: The Enduring Dream of Flight (2001) – Crown Publishing Group
- First Job: A Memoir of Growing Up at Work (2002) – PublicAffairs
- Shane Comes Home (2006) – HarperCollins
- The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey (2015) – Simon & Schuster
- Life on the Mississippi: An Epic American Adventure (Aug 2022) – Simon & Schuster
References
edit- ^ a b "Discover Author Rinker Buck". HarperCollins. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ "An Interview with Rinker Buck". Random House. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- ^ "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Northeastern New Jersey". www.airfields-freeman.com. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: California: Southeastern Orange County". www.airfields-freeman.com. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ Herring, Hubert B. (August 20, 1997). "Remembering Two Boys in a Piper Cub Over America". New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ Minzesheimer, Bob (December 2, 1999). "'Flight' One Critic's Pick of the Year". USA Today. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- ^ "SPJ Announces Recipients of 2003 Sigma Delta Chi Awards". Spj.org. Retrieved December 2, 2018.