"The next best thing to not having a brother (as I donot) is to have Brothers."--Gay TaleseHere is a tapestry of stories about the complex and uniquerelationship that exists between brothers. In this book, some ofour finest authors take an unvarnished look at how brothers admireand admonish, revere and revile, connect and compete, love and warwith each other. With hearts and minds wide open, and, in somecases, with laugh-out-loud humor, the writers tackle a topic thatis as old as the Bible and yet has been, heretofore,overlooked.Contributors range in age from twenty-four to eighty-four, andtheir stories from comic to tragic. Brothers examines andexplores the experiences of love and loyalty and loss, of altruismand anger, of competition and compassion--the confluence ofthings that conspire to form the unique nature of what it is to beand to have a brother."Brother." One of our eternal and quintessentialterms of endearment. Tobias Wolff writes, "The good luck ofhaving a brother is partly the luck of having stories totell." David Kaczynski, brother of "TheUnabomber": "I'll start with the premise that abrother shows you who you are--and also who you are not.He's an image of the self, at one remove . . . You are a'we' with your brother before you are a'we' with any other." Mikal Gilmore refers tobrotherhood as a "fidelity born of blood."We've heard that the apple doesn't fall far from thetree. But where do the apples fall in relation to each other? Andare we, in fact, our brothers' keepers, after all?These stories address those questions and more, and are, likethe relationships, full of intimacy and pain, joy and rage, burdensand blessings, humor and humanity.

Frank Mccourtforeword xiBenjamin Cheever and Fred Cheevercivil war 1David Kaczynskimissing parts 15David Maranissthe sensations of jim 31Phillip Lopatemy brother, life (with apologies to pasternak) 41Mikal Gilmoresecrets and bones 49Richard Fordwe were men 59Ethan Caninamerican beauty 65John Edgar Widemandoing time 85Chris Bohjalianmy brother's a keeper 91Daniel Menakerheadlock 97Pete Hamilla drinking life 113David Sedarisyou can't kill the rooster 117Geoffrey Wolffheavy lifting 125Tobias Wolffa brother's story 141Charles D'Ambrosiodocuments 149Jim Shepardget away from me 157James Hurstthe scarlet ibis 167Steven V. Robertsthe roberts boys 173Dominick Dunnea death in the family 183Floyd Sklootjambon dreams 195Jay Neugeborenimagining robert 209Herbert Goldking of the cleveland beatniks 221Gregory Orrthe accident 231Jerald Walkersacraments of reconciliation 243Darin Strausschang and eng 251Nathaniel Rich and Simon Richbrothers on brotherhood 257About The Editor And Contributors 263Acknowledgments 269Sources And Permissions 271