Publisher's Weekly
The author of Crows ''reaffirms his stature as an original writer with a talent for creating offbeat characters of uncommon depth and appeal . . . his subtle commentary on the human condition always rings true,'' said PW of this short-story collection, which includes O. Henry Prize-winner ''Risk.'' (June)

Library Journal
Dickinson here presents ten stories with variable results. The best is ''Risk,'' a tale of game-playing young adults whose activi or Without''rely on the fiction writer's oldest and most deceitful gambit, the trick ending that hits the reader with an unlooked-for surprise. O. Henry was a master at this abrupt conclusion, but sometimes even he was unties include a night of dice-throwing for the world, Monopoly on the big board. The others, all small-scale, lack essential details in character and setting. Three stories''The Jinx,'' ''Bill Boston,'' and the longest, ''Withsuccessful, as Dickinson is here. Overall, the stories are deliberately elliptical and excessively quirky. Dickinson has received much praise for his novels, Waltz in Marathon ( LJ 11/1/83) and Crows ( LJ 4/1/85) , but With or Without doesn't merit such consideration. Glenn O. Carey, English Dept., Eastern Kentucky Univ., Richmond