Wayfaring Stranger by James Lee Burke

This is the first in a series. In 1934, sixteen-year-old Weldon Avery Holland takes a shot at Bonnie and Clyde after a showdown on the family farm. He later ends up fighting for his life during the Second World War. Both events shape him to be a man of courage and morality. Returning to the States, he and his soldier friend enter the oil business and find success. But there are those who are jealous of their success. The ultra-rich think it's their right to take what they want without paying the piper, and they’ll do whatever it takes to get it. But they’ve underestimated Holland, who is from a long line of American heroes.

Burke brings the atmosphere of the Depression, the war and later years to life. This at heart is a love story between Holland and the woman he rescued from a Nazi concentration camp. I look forward to the other Holland stories in the series.