Writer and former engineer Nick Arvin layers his knowledge of technology, mechanical design, and human character into a collection of emotionally riveting stories. With a subtle hand he transports readers through history and across America to ten poignant and utterly unforgettable places: a traffic accident in the middle of the heartland; the electrocution of Topsy the elephant at Coney Island at the turn of the century; the backyard of an old recluse; a Marine Corps practice invasion of the Florida beaches; a romantic tryst in a dismal corporate office; the launching of the first manned American hydrogen balloon in the eighteenth century; and more. Constantly aware of how technology shapes the way we interact with each other and experience the world, Arvin uses these original settings and compelling characters to create a moving collection of stories that, though seemingly unlinked, comes together to form a stunning, awe-inspiring whole.

Nick Arvin was born and raised in Michigan, received a degree in engineering from Stanford, and spent three years in product development at the Ford Motor Company before leaving to earn his MFA in Creative Writing at the Iowa Writers Workshop. He has recently been awarded a Michener Grant, and his stories have been published in The Black Warrior Review.