Donald McCaig was an acclaimed American novelist, poet, essayist, and sheepdog trainer. Born on May 1, 1940, in Butte, Montana, he made significant contributions to literature, especially concerning rural American life, sheepdogs, and the Civil War.

He was the award-winning author of Jacob’s Ladder, described as “the best civil war novel ever written” by The Virginia Quarterly. The novel received widespread praise, with People magazine likening it to classics such as Gone With the Wind and Cold Mountain. It won prestigious awards like the Michael Sharra Award for Civil War Fiction and the Library of Virginia Award for Fiction.

In addition to his novels, McCaig also wrote poetry and essays, often using various pseudonyms throughout his career. He passed away on November 11, 2018.