Breece Pancake killed himself with a shotgun in Charlottesville, Virginia on Palm Sunday in 1979. He was 26 years old at the time and had just completed a graduate writing program at the University of Virginia. Four years later "The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake" was published, a collection of twelve stories that posthumously established his literary reputation as one of the finest short story writers in twentieth century American literature.

Pancake grew up in the hollows of West Virginia and each of the carefully wrought stories in this collection deals with the seemingly desperate lives of the working poor in that part of the country. They are remarkably crafted stories, written with a deep sense for the locale and the people from which they are drawn. They are also models of precision, the kind of stories that deserve to be read over and over, studied for the way in which they use foregrounding and the mundane details of everyday life--albeit everyday life that quietly screams with the desperation of poverty, deadening work, drinking, promiscuity, and brutality-to draw complex portraits of people who endure, even when endurance is no more than a substitute for hope. As he writes in "A Room Forever," the story of a tugboat mate spending New Year's Eve in an eight-dollar-a-night hotel room where he drinks cheap whiskey out of the bottle and eventually ends up with a teen-aged prostitute: "I stop in front of a bus station, look in on the waiting people, and think about all the places they are going. But I know they can't run away from it or drink their way out of it or die to get rid of it. It's always there."

The best of these stories are "Trilobites," "The Honored Dead," "Fox Hunters," and "In the Dry." But there really isn't a weak story in the bunch. Every story is captivating, every one an exemplar of what good short story writing should be. At the end, the only thing that disappoints, that leaves the reader discomforted, is the thought that Pancake died so young, that these are the only stories we have by a truly remarkable writer.

In this volume, the writer's surviving voice really hits home and stays there. Like that perfect song that stays in your head and carries you through the day, Breece Pancake's words and wisdom echoe through the reader's mind forever after reading them. In this life, there is always something around to remind of a Breece Pancake story. From the time weathered fossils in the creek beds to the rare West Virginia 120 m.p.h. strait stretches, after reading this volume I see Pancake everywhere, no matter where I am in the world. Like the trilobite preserved beneath the earth that hides it, these stories are a tangible (and for some reason widely unknown), history of a time and generation that, like the tragedy of Pancake's suicide, is destined to be repeated if ignored.

There are times when things come together in such a way that you know it's perfect. It can be a phrase of music, a blending of colors and sounds in film, or, in this case, the words of a story. This book tells stories that fall together in a timeless way, but are still firmly rooted in a specific place and time.

Having grown up in West Virginia, there were parts of these stories that spoke to me from a sort of "native" perspective. But more to it was the emotion that was the core, the skin and the stitching of each of these stories.

It's a good book to own. To read from when you feel like being taken to another place for a while. And to carry a piece of that place with you once you put the book down.

I picked this journal up for a friend for Christmas. When I got home I was thumbing through it and wanted to keep it for myself. She loved the journal. It has great opening lines to get you to think about what is really important. She is uplifting and lighthearted and most of all funny. Now I am ordering one for myself.

Wow - A real affirmation that life is attitude and attitude is a choice no matter what happens. As Barbara says "Pain is inevitable but misery is optional"

This is an excellent book for new aspiring Christians. Miles takes you through the book of John and has the reader reflect upon each chapter. I would highly recommend this, especially for youngsters.

Absolutely the funniest book I've read in recent years! I found myself laughing out loud for just about every chapter of it, and had to stop reading it during lunch one day because other people in the restaurant were staring at me (I mean, I'm cute and all, but let's be realistic...). This is a collection of articles by a fictitious teenager named "Buck Felner" (John McPherson), and the stories are hilarious! I work with teenagers, but I've found many laughable moments from my own high school years reading this. Try your best to find a copy! You'll definitely be glad you did!

if you follow the plans verbatim, you are basicly screwed. Use the basic diminsions, but double check or calculate for yourself most of the cuts. The plans are not real accurate, but do propose some REAL nice stuff. I've built 3 of them tables so far, and I love them. Just be careful.

never before have i seen a more hilarious, fall on the floor, "i can relate to this!" collection of comical settings. i just cant begin to decide which one is most amusing. The settings imitate real life, and i felt like i was in the middle of the funniest sit-com ever. It literally made me laugh out loud! What a genius and gift John McPherson is.

His style is most enjoyable to new parents, and if you like Jim Unger's "Herman", your'e sure to enjoy this as well.

This has to be the most hysterically accurate depiction of office life I have aver read!! I have been in the workplace for 56 years and MacPherson has caught visually every nuance of the daily lives of office workers. The actions and reactions drawn on every page, with comments to match, is a masterpiece! In fact, the book could survive without comments, it is so visually pure!! This book should be in everyone's home library!

After reading two of Joyce McPherson's other books, I knew I was in for a treat when I picked up River of Grace, the biography of John Calvin. While the language is easily understandable for a child, it holds the interest of the adult. I have even seen my husband, who rarely picks up a book, reading this one. John Calvin is famous as a theologian, but I found out lots of things that I didn't know about him. It made his life come alive for me.

McPherson's funniest Close To Home collection ever! I am a big fan of his panel and I read it every single day in my newspaper. I don't want to spoil anything for you guys who love cliffhangers, so I'll just give one example of a panel: There are two woman in the kitchen, and one wall has a bunch of crossword puzzle clues written on it, and on the floor there is a crossword puzzle!! And in the corner is a huge pencil! And this woman is saying to the other: "This is what I get for marrying a crossword puzzle fanatic." And if you think THAT'S funny, you should read the rest! A must-buy!!!