In 1911 a young John Robert Shaw from South Carolina had his first taste of flying. In 1926, two years after the plane crash death of his best friend, he attempted a solo flight record in a refitted Curtiss Jenny. Then, with half the journey completed, his plane was caught in a storm, went down, and for seventeen years he was missing, presumed dead. "The Longest Winter" is a fictional biography of John Robert Shaw's life. His story is one of despair and courage, tragedy and triumph. Stranded on an uncharted rocky island, his body broken by the crash, John Robert is adopted into a tribe of Eskimos. In this amazing tale, the author captures the Native American culture and vividly depicts one man's struggle to retain his sanity in a harsh, heartless environment.