"No pretty little thoughts, no fake faith-restoratives -- just hard solid craftsmanship and style." -- The New York Times (An Outstanding Book of the Year) From the author of Hard Rain Falling and Blade of Light come these two novellas and eight shorter pieces that explore racial conflict and the agonies of loneliness and heartbreak: "The Crossroader," in which a Black drifter outfoxes an all-white crew of small-town hustlers;...