The central characters in these 11 stories are men who can't find peace, who find themselves in conflict with their world and with themselves. Often, the conflict is rooted in the past, in a relationship with a family member, or in a loss of some kind--a loved one, ideals, dreams, ambitions. Remarkably, these men don't seem very different from the rest of us, man or woman, young or old, past or present. "A splendid book of stories that ravish and ennoble and hearten, even as the news remains bad. Falco has more talent than ought to be legal or mortal. I can't imagine a better book of stories will be published this year. "--Lee K. Abbott, author of All Things, All at Once: New and Selected Stories "As much as I love some of Falco's earlier work--stories like 'Gifts,' for instance, or 'Silver Dollars,' which seem to be among the most powerful fiction of the last quarter-century--in this new book he's taken his work to even greater heights. The title story is a stunner, and so are several others. But frankly, there's no point in my directing readers to the highlights. The highlight is the collection itself."--Steve Yarbrough, author of Safe from the Neighbors "Burning Man is a lean, forthright, often devastating examination of our ineluctable longing for beauty and truth."--Susann Cokal, author of Mirabilis "Ed Falco is an enchanter who casts his spell with what Ford Madox Ford called the 'fresh usual word,' with impeccable sentences, and with unerring and exquisite details. These unsettling explorations of men at a dangerous age, whose quiet lives are often haunted and shaped by loss, are savvy, fearless, and achingly beautiful. Burning Man represents Ed Falco at the height of his considerable narrative powers. What talent, what nerve, what a wondrous and spellbinding collection."--John Dufresne, author of Requiem, Mass.