In his only collection of short fiction, Glendon Swarthout, author of The Shootist, Where the Boys Are , and Bless the Beasts and the Children , reveals in microcosm the heroic and gritty themes that characterized both his novels and films. Although these stories were written over a span of three decades, their themes of generational conflict, hypocrisy, loss, sacrifice, love, and war remain fresh and startling. Alternately funny and uncomfortable, Swarthout captures the postwar tensions of twentieth-century Americans. This collection reveals the versatility, range, and skill of one of America's great storytellers.