Great Falls

One brother home from war. The other desperate to save him. A gripping journey together to the river's end. Shane has always worshiped his big brother, Jeremy. But three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken their toll, and the easy-go-lucky brother Shane knew has been replaced by a surly drunk who carries his loaded 9mm with him everywhere and lives in the basement because he can’t face life with his wife and two small children. When Jeremy shows up after Shane’s football game and offers to take him to the family cabin overnight, Shane goes along — both to get away from a humiliation on the field and to keep an eye on Jeremy, who’s AWOL from his job at Quantico and seems to have a shorter fuse than ever. But as the camping trip turns into a days-long canoe trip down the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, Shane realizes he’s in way over his head — and has no idea how to persuade Jeremy to return home and get the help he needs before it’s too late. In a novel at once gripping and heartbreaking, Steve Watkins offers a stark exploration of the unseen injuries left by war.

Great Falls, on the Missouri River, began as a city of sun, water, and future. Long a crossroads for Native Americans, in 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition portaged the great falls of the Missouri. Early development combined electrical power from dams with mineral resources from nearby mountains to power smelters and refineries. The railroad stimulated growth as Great Falls became a dynamic "Electric City" at the heart of the mountains and valleys of Cascade County. Today the river, ranching and farming, regional retail, and medical facilities combine with cultural and recreational tourism and Montana's largest military presence. Great Falls boasts Montana's greatest ethnic diversity, with the state's largest Native American and African American populations. A world-class symphony and the renowned Charles M. Russell Museum help round out Great Falls as Montana's "All-American City."