Conrad Richter may not be a writer of the first rank, but his work has moments of splendor and mythic power. His is a vision of human growth and decency, with work, perseverance, and virtue at its core. Richter's America and the things he prized, those having "That Early American Quality"--the revealing title of a 1950 essay--are lost to the past. His works have been translated into more than thirty languages, and he won both a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize; six of his novels, including The Sea of Grass (1937), were made into motion pictures. Although critical tastes have largely moved away from Richter's nostalgic vision, several of his novels remain in print.

Conrad Michael Richter was born on 13 October 1890 in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, the oldest of three sons of John Absalom Richter and Charlotte Esther Henry Richter. He came from a long line of Lutheran...