"What's remarkable about Thomas Cobb's stories is that they 
manage, simultaneously, to be so hot and so cool. He takes a 
bead on men and their illusions—boys, too, halfway toward the 
adult passion that will forever bedevil them—and what he fixes 
in his sights is the male animal in extremis, pained, full of 
longing, and finally made sympathetic by his tough and honest
observation."—Rosellen Brown

"These stories are built of small moments hauntingly rendered. 
And they are strong enough to bear the heft and heartbreak of 
adult life. The funny disorder of it all is made memorable by 
Mr. Cobb, and his work is worth reading, and even singing, 
aloud."—Fredrick Busch

"Thomas Cobb, in this stunning collection of short stories, draws
unrelenting portraits of cruelty, whether it's the ravages of age
in 'Ball Hawks' or the 'costly hobby' of dying in 'Oncology.' Even
the 'acts of contrition' are twisted. In revealing the truths of human
predatory instincts, Cobb continues to show that he is a master
of characterization and one of our most daring craftsmen."—Jeffrey
Greene, author, French Spirits

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THOMAS COBB grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and attended the 
creative writing programs at the University of Arizona and the 
University of Houston. He teaches writing and literature at Rhode
Island College. He lives in western Rhode Island with his wife, dog,
and two cats. He is the author of one published novel, Crazy Heart.