Steven A. Branstetter

Crossing to Safety is an underappreciated masterpiece of literature by the "dean and mentor of Western writers," Wallage Stegner. Stegner won the Pulitzer for fiction and the National Book Award, but he is far from a household name, which is a shame. His final novel, written when he was 78 years old, follows the lives, friendships and ambitions of two couples over a lifetime of friendship (the couples originally met when the two main characters were new assistant professors). Although Stegner himself, a noted stoic and self-proclaimed "square," might have noted that "nothing happens" in Crossing to Safety, the story is a meaningful reflection on life and what is really important in the end. Ultimately, the book is about perspective.