William Least Heat Moon (b.1939) was born in Kansas City, Missouri, of English, Irish, and Osage Indian ancestry. Originally named William Trogdon, he was educated at the University of Missouri and holds a bachelor's degree in photojournalism and a doctorate in English. In 1978, Heat Moon began a remarkable journey. Taking a leave of absence from teaching, he set out from Missouri in a half-ton truck named Ghost Dancing, and journeyed throughout America, following thirteen thousand miles of rural roads. From his experiences during this odyssey of self-discovery, Heat Moon wrote Blue Highways, his first published book.

For his next book, PrairyErth, Heat Moon explored only a small area of Kansas—the last remaining expanse of tall-grass prairie in the United States. The book includes folk history and Native American legends about the prairie. In his latest book, River-Horse: A Voyage Across America (1999), Heat Moon again chronicles his travels across America—this time by rivers. Currently he lives near the Missouri River outside Columbia, Missouri, and is looking for his next adventure.