Gary Paulsen was born on May 17, 1939 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "I'm only a second-generation American. My father's family came to this country from Denmark; my mother's people emigrated from Norway and Sweden. My father was a career military man who se...

EASTERN SUN, WINTER MOON: An Autobiographical Odyssey Gary Paulsen. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, $22.95 ISBN 0-15-127260-3 Paulsen's notable adult trade debut, Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass, and 16 award-winning YA novels precede this gripping memoir of a tumultuous childhood. "My mother and I...

There are many lawyers in the room, but only two of them matter. One is a youthful-looking man of about 50 with gray hair and a robust color to his face. He sits alone in a chair, blinking in the glare of a...