Welcome to the short stories of Ron Carlson, where strange beach towels turn up in your living room; where the ordinary son of a family of geniuses spins a rollicking tale of happiness and disappointment; where a teenaged magician seduces the prettiest girl in his high school and the world, with devestating consequences; and where a desperate ex-con with a broken heart must hide out in a desert hotel, only to make a startling discovery.Long regarded as one of our finest living short story writers, Ron Carlson triumphantly returns to the form with At the Jim Bridger, nine stories that are epic in scope and confessional in tone; stories that enfold the reader in a world of love and mystery, and make us feel better than just about anything written on the page.