What is it about small-town America that produces unpretentious giants? Is it something in the fresh country air that spurs small town boys to run for the sun long after they've left the quiet confines of their safe villages? In this autobiography, we learn the story of a small-town boy making good as he grows up along the lush banks of the Sangamon River near Mahomet, Illinois. From Gregory Duke Brown's unique and understandable perspective, we experience life in small-town America during the late sixties and early seventies. In his sequel, Duke's Run, we are then taken along for his thrilling adventures as a Golden Gloves boxing champion to a young law student teaching English in Seoul, Korea, where he meets his future bride. Then we learn of Duke's experiences as a Combat Arms Officer in the 82nd airborne and a merchant in the French Quarter of New Orleans before settling his family in Oklahoma City and entering the political arena. In his stories, we grow to appreciate how small-town values and a Midwestern work ethic can generate a life worth living, fighting, and dying for.