But for that long moment, coming back from the anesthetized emptiness, those two words seemed the most lucid and important of all.
Not cancer.
“Not cancer,” my wife said again.
“Hand me the dice,” I said.
ESQUIRE,
January 1991
About Author
New York journalist Pete Hamill is among the last of a dying breed: the old-school generalist who writes about anything and everything, guided only by passionate and boundless curiosity. In this collection of his finest writings since 1970, Hamill tackles such diverse subjects as what television and crack have in common, how Mike Tyson spent his time in prison, and what it’s like to realize you’re middle-aged—not to mention Octavio Paz, Brooklyn’s Seventh Avenue, Frank Sinatra, American immigration policy, Northern Ireland, and Madonna. Piecework is Hamill at his very best.
“The perfect sampler…Infused with clear-headed prose that searches out the bright lights and blind spots of the human heart.”
—People
“Pete Hamill, who has been around the block a few dozen times and has the scars to prove it, works a lot of territory. He talks to people, checks the sound, the smell, and the feel of places, and writes with a wonderful, sharp honesty.”
—Providence Journal-Bulletin
“Hamill’s words reach out from the page and prick holes in your prejudices, question your beliefs and cajole, yet they also have the power to touch you deeply.”
—Associated Press
Pete Hamill started his career at the New York Post in 1960. He has written for numerous national magazines, has worked as a syndicated columnist, and is currently editor in chief of the New York Daily News. His books include eight novels, among them the recently published Snow in August; two collections of stories; and A Drinking Life, his bestselling memoir.