This new collection of short fiction by the only science fiction author to win the National Book Award celebrates her understanding that narrative is the shining thread with which we create our common humanity. Astonishing in their diversity & power, her stories exhibit both the artistry of a major writer at the height of her powers & the humanity of a mature artist confronting the world with her gift of wonder still intact. "The First Contact with the Gorgonids" "Newton's Sleep" "The Ascent of the North Face" "The Rock That Changed Things" "The Kerastion" "The Shobies' Story" "Dancing to Ganam" "Another Story OR A Fisherman of the Inland Sea"