<DIV>Though Charles Portis is best known for his fiction writing, he is also a prolific essayist, travel writer, and newspaper reporter. Collected here in <i>Escape Velocity</i>, edited by Jay Jennings, is his "miscellany" ?? journalism, short fiction, memoir, and even the play <i>Delray's New Moon</i>, published for the first time in this volume. Portis covers topics as varied as the civil rights movement, road tripping in Baja, and Elvis' s visits to his aging mother for publications such as the <i>New York Herald Tribune</i> and <i>Saturday Evening Post</i>. Fans of Portis’s droll Southern humor and quirky characters will be thrilled at this new addition to his library, and those not yet familiar with his work will find a great introduction to him here. Also included are tributes by accomplished authors including Donna Tartt and Ron Rosenbaum.</div>