The Shadows of August

by Denis

A great lady once remarked, "All the characters are at the race track." She was right. Damon Runyon knew that, as did Ernest Hemingway, Dick Francis, Joe Hirsch, and many others. Search any shopping mall and you will be hard pressed to find the likes of Too Tall Teddy, Patricia the Planner, Diamond Earl, Shiner, or The Stranger. Even beglittered casinos fail to attract personalities one finds perched along the rail of a major racetrack like Saratoga. They're all there, each adding a new paragraph to the spectacle that crystallizes in August on Union Avenue. Come on in, everyone is welcome.

306 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 2014