A dazzling collection of essays--on reading, writing, form, and thought--from one of America's master writers. Beginning with personal, both past and present, it emphasizes William H. Gass's lifelong attachment to books and then moves on to ponder the work of some of his favorite writers (among them Kafka, Nietzsche, Henry James, Gertrude Stein, and Proust). An essential addition to the Gassian canon, Life Sentences shows William H. Gass at his best.