On a quiet autumn afternoon in 1944, nine-year-old Morris Bird III decides to visit a friend who lives on the other side of town. So he grabs the handle of his red wagon and, with his little sister in tow, begins an incredible pilgrimage across Cleveland . . . and out of childhood forever.

Set against the backdrop of one of the worst industrial disasters in American history, Don Robertson's enduring, beloved masterwork is a remarkable story of destiny, bravery, and responsibility, as fresh and relevant as when it first appeared in print.

If there was one genuine truth that Morris Bird III thought he understood, it was that the world forever and relentlessly changed. But only in one direction--from simple to complicated.

When he was nine, Morris Bird III learned the meaning of bravery. Now, at seventeen, he's on the verge of adulthood . . . and he's fallen in love. But it's 1952 and the Korean War hangs over his head like a dangling sword--and his prickly, complicated relationship with his cold and silent father has never been satisfactorily resolved. When Morris's own mortality stares him in the face, he learns what it truly means to become a man.

"The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened" is the final book in Don Robertson's classic trilogy featuring one of the most endearing characters in American literature.

A lost, coming-of-age classic from the author of "The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread" is now back in print. Funny, sarcastic, touching, and, yes, nostalgic, this is a novel of character to be enjoyed by all ages.--"Library Journal."