When it first appeared in 1945, this novel disconcerted a good many critics: Agee Ward, "the man who was there" of the title, ostensibly is the man who is not there--a member of the armed forces in World War II, he has been reported missing in action. Yet as we are shown various views of Agee and how he continues to affect the lives of others--among them Grandma Herkimer and Private Reagan, who knew him in boyhood; Peter Spavic and Mrs...