Every story here has a different historical setting, ranging form Ancient Greece through Roman England and the French Revolution through the present day, all carefully researched and usually interesting, but only a few grabbed me. The more commonplace contemporary family reminiscences in "Proto-Scorpions of the Silurian" and "Courtesy for Beginners" both finish strong, and along with "Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Strong," were my favorites. ( )

I have mixed feelings about this book. I truly enjoyed Shepard’s writing, but felt at times that the main character in each story was the same, as if the same father and/or brother dysfunctional relationship was shown through different chronological and geographic backgrounds. Having said that, I wonder if this is, after all, the touch of genius in this book.

One thing is for certain, there is a maleness about it that transcends the fact that only one of the stories portrait a female main character and that all other main characters/narrators are men. It is that Shepard exposes the male psyche with such clarity, at times I – female that I am – felt like a voyeur peeking at the boys, eavesdropping on conversations that were not for my ears. Testosterone seems to be a key ingredient in this book. And surprisingly this is quite unusual, as if literature in general was mostly impregnated with estrogen and progesterone. But that is a different discussion…

I started to write this review intended on giving it 3 stars, but the more I think about it, the more I realize it deserves better. 4 stars it is!
( )

I only read a story and a half - nothing wrong with them - they just didn't spark for me.

Shepard writes amazing stories, and this book is proof. Filled with wonder, Shepard blends history and science into his tales to create fulfilling stories. ( )

the future of the short story: Much has been in the reviews (including Lemony Snicket's glowing commentary in the New York Times) on the range of subjects treated here. I think that this sound bite risks reducing these thrilling stories to novelty pieces... not the case. These hit with tremendous impact. We are skillfully, swiftly, convincingly led to see what we have in common with Russian physicists, Roman soldiers, or a little brother in Connecticut, and their emotional upheavals slam vividly close to home.

Two things, in my opinion, make this book particularly current and essential:
-For whatever reasons, popular taste seems to have shifted from fiction to nonfiction. Memoirs have famously succeeded where novels could not be published. New popularity of documentaries, reality television, etc. Everywhere we see claims to "reality-based" entertainment, though in most cases it has clearly been punched up to inject a little excitement into the proceedings. Instead of fictionalizing a dubious reality, the project of grounding a fiction in the dirt and busted concrete of actual events is far more compelling. This is what I see in the intensive research behind Shepard's stories. But these are not at all dragged down by an abundance of detail, as if to prove that the research was done. Instead, the details were clearly internalized: the voice and setting that emerges is fluid, captivating, real. And on top of these realities, we are able to inhabit the minds of the characters who were there.

-I may have lost track, but I think this is the Information Age, or else the Age Immediately Following It. We have seen periodic writers come and go that purportedly capture this new era. Much of that work is a disorienting blather, loosely attempting to be about everything but in fact being about nothing. That type of work is sometimes, in fact, impressed with itself that it is about everything and nothing. As if that were a difficult thing to pull off. As if those weren't already attached at the hip. Shepard's work is radically different. It is always about everything and something. By getting specific, by inhabiting the wholly imagined meat and bones of people who participated in extraordinary events, he captures the essential of what made the event live on, he captures the essential of human soul.

At any rate, this is highly recommended.