The Eye You See with

Book excerpt: The definitive collection of nonfiction--from war reporting to literary criticism to the sharpest political writing--from the "legend of American letters" (Vanity Fair) Robert Stone was a singular American writer, a visionary whose award-winning novels--including Dog Soldiers, Outerbridge Reach, and Damascus Gate--earned him comparisons to literary lions ranging from Samuel Beckett to Ernest Hemingway to Graham Greene. Stone had an almost prophetic grasp of the spirit of his age, which he captured with crystalline clarity in each of his novels. Of course, he was also a sharp and brilliant observer of American life, and his nonfiction writing is revelatory. The Eye You See With--the first and only collection of Robert Stone's nonfiction--was carefully selected by award-winning novelist and Stone biographer Madison Smartt Bell. Divided into three sections, the collection includes the best of Stone's war reporting, his writing on social change, and his reflections on the art of fiction. This is an extraordinary volume that offers up a clear-eyed look at the 20th century and secures Robert Stone's place as one of the most original figures in all of American letters.