On the River Styx: And Other Stories [Paperback]

Since the 1950s Peter Matthiessen has written fiction and nonfiction of elemental power and moral vision, including the acclaimed novelsAt Play in the Fields of the LordandFar Tortugaand works of naturalism and exploration like the National Book Award-winningThe Snow Leopard.

This stunning collection of short stories, available for the first time in paperback, spans more than three decades of writing by one of the most acclaimed literary voices of our time."Mr. Matthiessen proves himself here to be a connoisseur of coiled tensions, between men and women, between people of different social classes, and, repeatedly, between races.... There is something almost mysterious about his achievement...qualities for which one can think of only classical or old-fashioned words: gravitas, grandeur, beauty." -- The New York Times

"These compelling tales of elemental fear and ever-pressing silence culminate in the great, dark and desperate final story, a masterful piece of work by one of our best writers." -- Don DeLillo

"Simply wonderful stories. When all the faddish smoke clears. Peter Matthiessen's work will stand revealed as that of an artist of immense talent, grandeur, and genius." -- Jim HarrisonPeter Matthiessenwas born in New York City in 1927 and had already begun his writing career by the time he graduated from Yale University in 1950. The following year, he was a founder of The Paris Review. Besides At Play in the Fields of the Lord, which was nominated for the National Book Award, he published six other works of fiction, including Far Tortuga and Killing Mister Watson. Matthiessen's parallel career as a naturalist and explorer resulted in numerous widely acclaimed books of nonfiction, among them The Tree Where Man Was Born, which was nominated for the National Book Award, and The Snow Leopard, which won it. Matthieló.