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Selected writers read from their essays

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What others said about the book

Browse a chapter: "Jasper, Texas Elegy"
The story that started the book

TampaVote 2004: Dispatches from the Ground
Sometimes even your best efforts go unrewarded.

South African Safari
In 1998 we saw the Garden of Eden.

"The New South Africa: Warm and Welcoming"
In 1999, reality hadn't yet trumped hope.

"Murder and the Reasonable Man"
Mix evidence and prejudice with a jury, then stir.

"The Old Wink and Nod"
Why bother with the facts when it's so easy to keep believing the hype?

"Heat"
Sun isn't the only thing that sets stuff on fire.

"The Tutu"
You're never too young to learn the hard lessons of desire.

"Bearing Witness"
When the thing you most fear finally happens, then what?

"White Friends"
Some of my best friends are white. Some aren't.

"Take Me to the Water"
A piece of Texas fiction...or is it?