"It was my misfortune to have missed "The Quarterback," and thus be unaware of this fine, unflinching writer. He does not prettify, embroider, ornament or otherwise offend against the utter dignity of his hard, enduring characters; out of their meanness and misery, he has made a story which I envy, in prose as clean and businesslike as a switchblade. Make sure everybody hears about this book; it's not about a gambler and a broad and a fighter at all-it's about the human condition, and it's beautiful."-George V. Higgins, author of "The Friends of Eddie Coyle"