The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories

Set in Greece, the Caribbean, Manhattan, a white-collar prison, and outer space, this small masterpiece of short fiction (USA TODAY) is a mesmerizing introduction to Don DeLillo's iconic voice, from the rich, startling, jazz-infused rhythms of his early work to the spare, distilled, monastic language of the later stories. In Creation, a couple at the end of a cruise somewhere in the West Indies can't get off the islandÔÇ"flights canceled, unconfirmed reservations, a dysfunctional economy. In Human Moments in World War III, two men orbiting the earth, charged with gathering intelligence and reporting to Colorado Command, ...