Quentin Burdick: The Gentle Warrior is based on interviews with Burdick, his family, Senate colleagues and many North Dakotans. As the son of Congressman Usher Burdick, Quentin Burdick became the first Democrat in North Dakota to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1958. Two years later, he won a surprise victory over Governor John Davis for the U.S. Senate, where he served continually until his death in September 1992. The book reveals many tragedies in Burdick's life: the pain of his parents' divorce, the crippling football injuries, the death of his first wife, the mental breakdown of his first son and the tragic loss of his second son in a freak accident in Fargo at age 16. Late Democratic Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield of Montana called Burdick "the quiet senator."