Although Tom Scanlon would just as soon spend it alone, his ninetieth birthday becomes the occasion for a family gathering in the Midwestern town of Lone Tree.

"'Judge Howard Potter, one of the most respected and influential citizens of a suburban town outside of Philadelphia, lies dead after a long and wearying illnes

"Wright Morris seems to me the most important novelist of the American middle generation. Through a large body of work -which, unaccountably, has yet to receive

**AS SEEN ON BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS** 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION - WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR 'A true diamond of a novel, glinting with comedy and trag