He stays at the edge of an outcast community inhabited by eccentrics, criminals and the poverty-stricken. Rising above the physical and human squalor around him, his detachment and wry humour enable him to survive dereliction and destitution with dignity.

    A superb collection of nonfiction from Harry Crews--a profile of Charles Bronson, an encounter with hillbillies along the Appalachian Trail, life inside a traveling carnival and more.