San Francisco: North Point Press, 1988. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. ix, [1], 260, [2] pages. DJ is price clipped. Small stamp on bottom edge. Includes Author's Preface, Shapinsky's Karma; Art's Father, Vladek's Son; Jensen's Shangri-la; Lennie's Illusion; Slonimsky's Failure; and Bogg's Bills, as well as Preface. The opening essay, "Shapinsky's Karma," tells the story of Akumal Ramachander, an English teacher from Bengalore, India,who, on his first trip to America, stumbles upon the work of a completely unknown, utterly reclusive, virtually destitute sixty year-old abstract painter named Harold Shapinsky. Ramachander decides it is his karma--his destiny in live--to bring this unlikely subject to fame and worldly success--and, surmounting all obstacles, he proceeds to de exactly that. Like the other essays in the collection, this true-life version of a contemporary art-world fairy tale is what Mr. Weschler calls a "passion piece"--these are stories of people merely going about their everyday business and ending up somewhere entirely different from where they thought they were headed. These stories are marked not only by the rare enthusiasms of their subjects but equally by the energy, empathy, intelligence, wit, and insight that Mr. Weschler brings to them. These are stories of people merely going about their everyday lives, when suddenly they seem to catch fire, becoming utterly obsessed, and ending up somewhere entirely different from where they though they were headed. These fascinating stories are marked not only by the rare enthusiasms of their subjects, but equally by the energy, empathy, intelligence, wit, and insight that Mr. Weschler brings to them. More