Pacific, and Other Stories

Almost ten years since his last book, Mark Helprin returns with a collection of sixteen stories that display the remarkable scope, incomparable wit, and deft prose that are his signature. A British paratrooper jumps into occupied territory in order to reconnoiter enemy positions, but a roof breaks his fall; shattered physically, he must decide the extent of his devotion to his mission. The 1958 New York Yankees gain an unexpected teammate in a puny, teenage Hasidic Jew whom God has called to rescue the "House of Ruth." In 1972, a female reservist in the Israeli Army who has despaired of love finds it at the very last minute, while floating in the sea off Haifa. The Pacific is an engulfing collection of lasting substance and emotional depth.