"A collection of short stories, visualizing the Great American Desert as an imagined world unto itself, traced from prehistoric times to the future. Explores water--its use and abuses--and the consequences of the land's mistreatment over time"--

The story, told in dialogue, of two brothers who fall into piracy, meet a mermaid, and end up in the Arctic.

"A radiant reflection of contemporary fiction at its best, The O. Henry Prize Stories 2006 features stories from locales as diverse as Russia, Zimbabwe, and the rural American South. Series editor Laura Furman considered thousands of stories in hundreds of literary magazines before selecting the winners, which are accompanied here by short essays from each of the three eminent jurors on his or her favorite story, as well as observations from all twenty...