William Gaddis published only four novels during his lifetime, but with those works he earned himself a reputation as one of America's greatest novelists. Less well known is Gaddis's body of excellent critical writings. Here is a wide range of his original essays, some published for the first time. From "'Stop Player. Joke No. 4,'" Gaddis's first national publication and the basis for his projected history of the player piano, to the title essay about missed opportunities in America during the past fifty years, to "Old Foes with New Faces," an examination of the relationship between the writer and the problem of religion—this diverse collection displays the power of an autonomous literary intelligence in an age increasingly dominated by political and religious conservatism.

This story of raging comedy and despair centers on the tempestuous marriage of an heiress and a Vietnam veteran. From their "carpenter gothic" rented house, Paul sets himself up as a media consultant for Reverend Ude, an evangelist mounting a grand crusade that conveniently suits a mining combine bidding to take over an ore strike on the site of Ude's African mission. At the still center of the breakneck action--revealed in Gaddis's inimitable virtuoso dialoge—is Paul's wife, Liz, and over it all looms the shadowy figure of McCandless, a geologist from whom Paul and Liz rent their house. As Paul mishandles the situation, his wife takes the geologist to her bed and a fire and aborted assassination occur; Ude issues a call to arms as harrowing as any Jeremiad--and Armageddon comes rapidly closer. Displaying Gaddis's inimitable virtuoso dialogue, and his startling treatments of violence and sexuality, Carpenter's Gothic "shows again that Gaddis is among the first rank of contemporary American writers" (Malcolm Bradbury, The Washington Post Book World).

A dying man lies in bed and embarks on a mental monologue on the mechanization of the arts, represented in the appearance of a mechanical piano. His reflections become a piercing diatribe against modern society and its deep-seated desires for fame and fortune. This novel is a heartbreaking story that does not grant any reprieve, and a superb diagnosis of the effects of technology, not only in the arts, but at the very core of contemporary everyday life. "Un hombre que yace en cama moribundo se embarca en un monologo mental a partir de la mecanizacion de las artes, representada en la aparicion de la pianola. Su reflexion termina por ser una punzante diatriba contra la sociedad moderna, con sus arraigados anhelos de fortuna y reconocimiento. Esta novela es un relato desgarrador que no concede respiro alguno y que es un magnifico diagnostico de los efectos de la tecnologia, no solo en el arte, sino en lo mas hondo de la vida cotidiana contemporanea."

With dazzling wit, William Gaddis brings his unmatched powers of observation and satirical sensibilities to bear on the American legal system. "A Frolic of His Own is a tour de force. It is a profound entertainment. It is scalding and Swiftian . . . darkly hilarious".--The New Republic. 1994 National Book Award winner.