John Edgar Wideman grew up in the Homewood section of Pittsburgh, where some of his novels and stories take place. A former Rhodes scholar, his work has been widely praised for its vivid and lyrical language, and his reviews and critical articles have appeared in a number of publications. He served as the senior judge for the Drue Heinz Literature Prize in 1992.

Rereading these 20 splendid stories was like having a reunion with dear old friends who have done very, very well in life. This is a powerful collection of vivid, varied, and important voices in American fiction. John Edgar Wideman did a wonderful editing job, a job that I for one don't envy, considering the consistently high quality of material he had to select from. I now have in my hands the short story anthology I intend to use in my writing courses until the cows come home.

John Edgar Wideman grew up in the Homewood section of Pittsburgh, where some of his novels and stories take place. A former Rhodes scholar, his work has been widely praised for its vivid and lyrical language, and his reviews and critical articles have appeared in a number of publications. He served as the senior judge for the Drue Heinz Literature Prize in 1992.

Rereading these 20 splendid stories was like having a reunion with dear old friends who have done very, very well in life. This is a powerful collection of vivid, varied, and important voices in American fiction. John Edgar Wideman did a wonderful editing job, a job that I for one don't envy, considering the consistently high quality of material he had to select from. I now have in my hands the short story anthology I intend to use in my writing courses until the cows come home.