Thomas King's work has been influential in the Native American literary community of Canada for some years, and he has won some impressive awards. Now he is beginning to find an audience in the United States. His mixture of close human observation, popular-culture satire, and historical perception make his work both entertaining and penetrating.

King was born in Sacramento, California, on 24 April 1943 to Robert Elvin King, a Cherokee from Oklahoma, and Katheryn Konsonlas King, who was of Greek ancestry. He and his brother, Christopher, were raised in Roseville, California, by their mother after their father left the family when Thomas was about five. After graduation from high school in Roseville, King worked at several jobs, including ambulance driver and craps croupier. He attended Sacramento State University in 1961-1962 and Sierra Junior College from 1962 to 1964. In 1964 he worked his way to Australia and New Zealand on a tramp steamer...